amor fati

All of us have events in our past that we wish had never happened. They may have altered the trajectory of our life or brought an unimaginable change in ourselves. We can’t fix something that has already happened, but we can fix our perception towards it.

We need to accept and move on, otherwise we’ll always remain stuck. Acceptance is key to our progress.

The German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche advocated not only to accept what happens to us but also enjoy and fall in love with it. He described this notion as ‘amor fati’ — a love of fate — and deemed it as a formula for human greatness.  It’s not only about accepting everything that happens to us, but also loving it.

Thousands of years ago, the Stoics practiced the same mindset. Epictetus instructed, “Don’t seek for everything to happen as you wish it would, but rather wish that everything happens as it actually will — then your life will flow well.”

We need to reframe the things and events that happen in our lives in the same way. It’s easier said than done, but it’s worth it.

When we accept things the way they are instead of wishing they had not happened, and cultivate love and appreciation towards them, we set ourselves free and invite happiness and joy back in our lives. We reclaim our cheerfulness and inner strength, and get closer to a the mindset of a victor.

As we embrace and not get bogged down by difficult situations in our life and as we start seeing our obstacles in a positive light, we get fueled to find opportunities and solutions.  

In the end, we need to be thankful and cultivate gratitude towards whatever that happens to us, it’s making us the person we’re supposed to become. It’s fueling our growth and resourcefulness.

We need to make our peace with what we have been through or what we’re going through because we know it’s causing our personal expansion, and in some way  making us a better person than who we were before.