Spanish soccer player David Silva said, "Winners don't believe in fate like others do. They simply can't accept defeat." Mr. Silva would agree that fatalism is a bad idea you must lose if you want to win. If you believe in fate, you will never do the work that must be done to succeed at anything.
Fatalism is a bad belief system that holds that everything you think about and do make no difference to the course of events. Fatalists believe that what happens to them and those about them will happen no matter what they do or how they respond. They live with the underwhelming idea the future is fixed, and the cards are stacked; therefore, they are powerless to make any difference in the world in which they live.
In the last century, a song made popular by Doris Day summarizes fatalism: "Que sera, sera–whatever will be will be. The future's not ours to see, Que sera, sera." If you accept this faulty philosophy, it means you believe you have no input as to who you are, what you do, or what happens to you. You are here only to use up air, take up space, accept what happens, and die.
It could be that fatalism is little more than an excuse not to excel—why bother, after all, the game is fixed.
Fatalism is sometimes used to explain irrational or cataclysmic events such as hurricanes, floods, and tsunamis. Why did the tornado take this house, but not that house? Why did the car crash kill one person but not the other? Why did one brother get rich, and the other died a pauper? "It was fate," says the fatalist, "it was just meant to be."
My first question for a fatalist would be, "Do you really believe the way you treat others makes no difference?" I wonder, does a fatalist look both ways before crossing the street? Will a fatalist exercise or eat healthy meals? Will a fatalist get a flu shot? Just wondering.
These questions reveal why there are very few consistent and committed fatalists. However, there are far too many who accept a portion of this bad ism as a way of opting out of life, and that's why fatalism, and any measure of it in your life – must be deleted.
Here's a better way to look at your life: You are a special creation of Almighty God. He created you with free will because he wants you to choose for yourself. He won't force his will on you as some sort of spiritual dictator. Rather, this loving God declared a few common-sense laws for your safety and comfort; then he counsels you with wisdom and stands ready to provide direction for your life. He loves you enough to let you make your own decisions and make your world as good a place as you can with the gifts he’s given you.
Helen Keller was born blind and deaf. She did not accept her condition as an unexplainable act of fate. She said, "One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar."
Ron Ross is an author, publisher, speaker, and co-founder of PowerfulSeniors.com. He lives in Loveland, Colorado