There is little doubt that in the United States man can control his destiny. We are born with free will. We are not puppets on strings controlled by a supreme being. God gave us the cognitive abilities to make choices. For every choice we make, there is a consequence which can be bad or good. People who chose to make good choices will reap the benefits of a good consequence.

If you make the choice to drive to the bar, become inebriated, and make another choice to drive home, the outcome is eventually going to be bad. Sometimes we can get away with bad choices, but not for long. You think you can drive home safely if you are careful. You are so carefully watching the road and trying to drive within your lane that you totally miss the stop sign or traffic light. You plow head on into the car that had the right of way and kill two children on the passenger side. You are now going to be convicted for two counts of vehicular manslaughter and will serve time in prison. You have to live with the fact that you killed two innocent children. Was it bad luck? No, it was due to your decision to drive while drunk. Not only did your poor choice affect you, it affected a mother and her two precious children.

Your destiny is also controlled by your character. Having integrity, morals, compassion, empathy, sympathy, being selfless and altruistic are the characteristics of a good character. This all translates to being a good person who makes good decisions.

You cannot blame your family, poverty, the government, your teachers, your job, bad luck or ignorance for having a terrible life. The path to happiness is filled with many obstacles. Taking the easy way out is to give up and accept your lot in life. People need to stop playing the “blame game” and accept personal responsibility for the ills that befall them. Many convicts will tell you they turned to crime because they came from dysfunctional families and were routinely beaten and starved by their parents, or suffered molestation or rape. There are millions of people who suffered the same terrible lives, but they made the choice to make good decisions and better their lives. There are scientifically documented case studies about people overcoming horrendous childhoods or major physical/ health problems to become inspiring people who have contributed to society. One thing they held in common was not playing the pity game. They did not blame others or circumstances. They chose their destinies by making good decisions that held good consequences or outcomes. No one said life is fair, because life is not fair. You have to “play the cards you are dealt”.

Making and striving for realistic goals, making good choices, and having good character will determine your destiny. The only thing that remains after your death is your good name. The choices are yours to make.

“Watch your thoughts for they become your words. Watch your words because they become your actions. Watch your actions because they become your habits. Watch your habits because they become your character. Watch your character because it becomes your destiny.” -Author Unknown