I was watching a movie in which two women were having a conversation. One said to the other. "I finally decided to settle down, I'm getting married!!!" The other said " Im so happy for you congrats, you two were destined to be together."
It got me thinking about the term "settling down." The term is usually used when we are not striving high, when we are just coming to an agreement. Why, then, do we associate our destiny with "settling down"?
As humans, we are so programmed to believe that we need to just settle down. That we are mediocre creatures and that is all we should strive for. However, I believe otherwise. I believe that we are powerful and stronger beyond belief. We have people like John Tartaglio who has no legs, yet ran a marathon using prosthetics. We have humans who go through the hell of being sexually abused, yet they get up, shake off the dust and become people like Oprah Winfrey and Maya Angelou. We have men like Steven Hawking, who has physical challenges, but the mind of a genius. And I ask myself why these people have the courage and resilience to come back from adversity and succeed. Is it because they are persistent, hopeful, or just plain lucky?
Personally, I don't believe in luck. I think luck only affects our life to the extent that it can matter where we were born, who our parents are and what country and environment we are born into. That's all luck helps us with.
I believe that the formula to success is to know what is important in life. Most of us know that, but we aren't really determined to go on. One little setback and we start blaming ourselves and feel guilty. I think guilt is our biggest enemy. People who are successful understand that they are humans and no mistake goes waste. Each mistake is like a tiny step towards our greater destiny.
The next thing to know is to always be persistent. Every successful person continues on towards their journey, instead of stopping and letting people discourage us. I have been a victim of this habit. I used to believe others more than I believed in myself. When people asked me what I did, I would say "I'm a writer." The response I would get would be, "Yeah, but what do you professionally?" And I started to believe that I had to be something else as being a writer was a part-time hobby only (that myth was destroyed).
Once you know your goal and you are persistent, you will reach your destiny. I believe so strongly in this. Maybe it won't be the destiny of winning the lottery and becoming a millionaire overnight, but your real destiny. Maybe it is to become a great mother, to help people through your kindness, to heal people, to stand up for them in our justice system or maybe even be a positivity magnet. But this is the destiny that you were created by the heavens above to have.
How do we know if something is our destiny or just a culmination of our desires? Our destiny gives us joy in its deepest, purest form. It's something that will make you smile for no reason at all; your heart will feel content while doing it. For me personally, I am just a much nicer person to be around when I'm writing.
Desire, on the other hand, will give us a short-lived thrill. It doesn't last. Having money to go on a shopping spree will only give us that adrenaline rush until the money is spent. Meeting the person of your dreams will give you that rush while your with them, but if you end up breaking up, you hate their guts.
Your path, your destiny will make you happy always; your desires will change with age and time. My 16-year-old daughter would be the happiest on earth if she would get front row tickets to see One Direction; me, on the other hand, I'd be happy getting a big bowl of cheesy fries. But when we are both doing volunteer work and organizing fundraisers, that's when you can see the power of pure joy in both of our eyes.