The Smart Lemming Rules of Life and Career Management: #3 Fate or free will?
We’ve all watched Star Wars, where the hero, Luke Skywalker, has a destiny to fight his father, Darth Vader. Was it fate?
Star Wars fans would say, “Yes,” because Luke is making the prophecy of “The One” come to pass.
Luke’s confrontation with Vader eventually returns Vader from the Dark Side, bringing balance to the Force.
Luke would probably like to think it was his free will; his choice to face Darth Vader, not some prophecy that was made years before Luke’s time.
The Perennial Questions
Life isn’t a movie like Star Wars, but it sure feels like it sometimes. Watching movies or reading classic fiction makes us reflect on the perennial questions of life:
- Do we have free will?”; or
- Do we have a fate that must be lived out as if it were set in stone?
I struggled with these two questions in my mid-twenties. My early twenties were consumed with discovering my spiritual values. My late twenties were full of angst, coming to terms on the fine line between fate and free will. There were decisions that I wanted to make that could have taken me off the course that I knew I needed to follow. I was stubborn enough to try, but I would always encounter a roadblock, nudging me back to my path.
As I vented to my Grandmother about my trials and tribulations, she would tell me that I needed to be humble to the path I was supposed to take. I was learning the difference between fate and free will. More importantly, I learned life was a delicate combination of the two.
Learning the Cause and Effect Assessment
My Grandmother wanted to me to reflect on my decisions, to see if I had selfish intentions. Would my decision affect more people than me? What would happen if I made the selfish decision? What impact would it have? Is it serving a great good, one larger than me? What are the consequences of the road not taken? Will it be too hard to course correct, if I stray from my given path?
I learned that veering off my course affected more people than just me. I also learned how to manage the tension between the two. Yes, I had free will, but within parameters.
For example, I wanted to be in Anchorage, but my path was in Seattle that would eventually take me on a journey to where I am today. What would have happened, if I would have gone to Anchorage? I probably would still be in Alaska today. I never would have gotten my master’s in healthcare administration. Therefore, I never would have gone into healthcare technology, which led me to the Internet that became the vehicle my little startup’s eventual sale to MTV.
Today, I look back and think,”Anchorage? Where did that come from? I wasn’t that committed to the idea. What was I thinking!”
I’m not saying that remaining in Alaska is bad for everyone. I’m just saying that it would have been bad for me. I believe each of us has purpose for being. After the past twenty years, I realized that I have affected more people in my life than I would have if I had remained in Alaska.
I’m not saying “be a martyr” by self sacrificing for others. I believe we need to balance our interests with the needs of others or a greater good. Â To find that fine line between fate and free will.
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The Smart Lemming Rules of Life and Career Management series outlines my rules of personal and work success. After reflecting on my personal values, I made this list, realizing values are my rules of being or life management principles. Based on your experiences, I hope this list inspires you to identify your own rules. Here are the rules to my success that may help you over the course of your journey:
- The Smart Lemming Rules of Life and Career Management
- The Smart Lemming Rules of Life and Career Management: Overview of the Pyramid and Its Levels
Level 1: Rules for Our Fundamental Nature
- #1 Find your own spirituality and practice it.
- #2 Know what you want or the Universe (or God) won’t know what to send you: If you don’t know what you want, how can you get to where you want to be?
- #3 Fate or free will? Regardless of what you believe, we all have a purpose to being here. The tricky part is discovering what it is.
- #4 Don’t wait for your future to happen to you, you have to be vigilant in making your future happen.
- #5 Understand your dark side, but don’t give into it or indulge it.
- #6 Aspire to always help and teach others.
Level 2: Rules of Continuous Learning and Modeling
- #7 Watch or read media sources when you need inspiration. Reflect on why you like a certain movie or TV show, so you understand why it moves you.
- #8 Always be learning. Continue learning through books or any source that gives you new ideas on how to approach your work or feeds your passion.
- #9 Become self aware. If you aren’t, then how will you know you’re screwing up?
- #10 Accept responsibility and make peace with your decisions and the consequences of those decisions. They have created the person you are today. The trick is, do you like what you’ve created? If not, then how can you change?
- #11 Keep a lid on chaos. Never let situations or emotions get away from you. Be the calm in the eye of the storm as strength, reflecting confidence for the most vulnerable people in your life.
Level 3: Rules for the Actual Journey
- #12 Stay still and don’t move if you feel lost, so you can find yourself or let the opportunity find you.
- #13 Always be course correcting.
- #14 Surround yourself with trusted and loyal friends. Be prepared to deal with betrayal without ambivalence. But be prepare to forgive (if the person is sincere, I mean really sincere).
- #15 Learn to channel your inner extrovert, if you’re an introvert. Learn to channel your inner introvert, if you’re an extrovert.
Level 4: Rules of Adapting to Environment and Interacting with Others
- #16 Make peace with your weaknesses. We’re not perfect. Even your strengths will turn into weaknesses. The trick is knowing when your strength has become a weakness.
- #17 Master your emotions and body language. Use them strategically in life and work.
- #18 Mentor yourself via the Space Time Continuum. What would your future self tell your present self? How can you get back on track? What have you done well? What more can you do? What would you tell yourself as a child, teen, 20 or 30 something?
Level 5: Rules of Humility
- #19 Never take your success for granted. Always prepare for the worst case scenarios. Be prepared for two steps forward and one step back.
- #20 Be humble. Treat others well, don’t be arrogant, and don’t drink your own Kool-Aid.
Level 6: Rule of Being
- #21 Be compassionate.
Similar Posts:
- The Smart Lemming Rules of Life and Career Management: #10 Accept Responsibility for Your Decisions
- The Smart Lemming Rules of Life and Career Management
- The Smart Lemming Rules of Life and Career Management: #4 Be Vigilant in Making your Future Happen
- The Smart Lemming Rules of Life and Career Management: #5 Understand your Dark Side
- The Smart Lemming Rules of Life and Career Management: #12 Stay Still and Don’t Move if You Feel Lost
I have never thought much about these questions. For me, free will is limited not by fate but by the circumstances. Like the philosopher said “I am myself and my circumstance” (Ortega y Gasset).
Great quote, I’ll have to remember that one. One reason why I listed this as a rule for me is because I learned that sometimes we’re on a path that we can’t alter. When we do alter it, we encounter really bad things, trying to nudge us back on course.
However, I’ve also encountered things that I could alter and didn’t face any barriers, but things accelerated in a good way.
I’ve learned to find humility in my life and career circumstances. I guess that’s my bottom line. We have to know when to go with the flow and when to change it or modify it….