One thing we can surely say about life is that our choices have a good probability of determining our life's course, at least to some extent. Specifically, we can with certainty assume that our choice of actions, past and future, can be held responsible for some of the conditions of our current and future existence respectively. What conditions those may be, we cannot foretell with the least bit of certainty, because even if we indulge in believing that our actions are solely responsible for any condition we experience or may experience, that would certainly be wrong on the grounds that we are not the only chess piece that moves on the chessboard. Other pieces move simultaneously as well, and to some extent affect our own movement and thus, its outcome.
It is of this fact that many times in our lives we are pleasantly or most of the time, unpleasantly reminded of. In the latter case we most often ask "Why?" and resort to our beliefs about life's way to fill out the answer. Then, in order to protect our already wounded ego, we enjoy in telling ourselves that "It was meant to happen" or that "Everything happens for a reason" or that "It will surely get better". Unfortunately this stance is not only limited to the examination of past events but most of the time it is adopted for future events, too. We like to sometimes think a priori that the dots will connect in our life in a way we don't yet know of or can't bother to figure out. We like to believe that "after the rain comes the sun" -always. In fact, we are comforted by this belief because even if we are struck by unpleasant events such as suffering or "failure", we keep believing that life will once again smile upon us, and reward us for our faith in it.
A common theme among humans of some education and sufficient self-esteem is that they believe that in the future, they will be inhabiting a better version of themselves and as a consequence, their lives will be better as well. People have a variety of reasons to think in such a way, the most common being that in observing their past selves and comparing them to their present selves, they see improvement. Then they make the common error of induction and assume that improvement must be a constant in one's life, something that will keep manifesting itself until the day they die. In fact there is no proof that something like that is actually taking place, and plenty of proof to the contrary. When visible improvements in ourselves and our lives begin to diminish, we justify it with yet another handful of beliefs designed for use in such cases of emergency, beliefs like "Oh, I'm just going through a bad period" , or "There is a reason for this, too" or "I've been too busy" or whatever other form of belief/excuse may apply. This is when we must realize that placing our life's outcome in any other hands than our own has clearly lead us to an unwanted path. We can of course, keep trusting that the path we are currently on must have a positive twist on it somewhere along the way, but on what exactly would we be placing our trust on? Life? The day has yet to come that scientific research justifies and supports these kind of beliefs. Nobody really knows for certain that their future will turn out the way they envision it, or that anything happens for a reason, or that the "sun always comes after the rain". These beliefs are at best described as hypotheses derived from empirical data. This does not make them facts however.
Why then should we keep blindly trusting life to fulfil our vision? There is nothing to support this belief except for our own desire to believe in it. Note that I am not implying that we sit in a chair and wait for life to miraculously manifest improvement into ourselves and our lives. This virtually guarantees a zero percent of change. What can then guarantee us that we can get what we want out of our lives, shape them into what we dream and desire and achieve our personal goals? The answer is effort. Effort is the only thing that has a scientifically provable probability of affecting one's life. Indeed, you can argue that a person who places effort in improving as an individual is bound to do so sooner or later. Of course, you cannot say how much he will improve, or in which way, or what effects his hypothetical improvement may or may not have in his life, but you can say so much with certainty: He WILL improve. Improving oneself doesn't automatically mean it will also improve one's life, precisely because the conditions that I've chosen to call "life" do not depend entirely on the person experiencing them. It is safe to assume though that effort can influence one's existence on some level, whereas not the same can be said with any set of beliefs one might hold in his head.
Suppose that two men are on their deathbed, both suddenly stricken with cancer at a much earlier age than that of their expected lifespan, contemplating their lives and the choices they made. The first man placed his faith in life and believed all through his existence that at some point it would offer him the opportunities he sought , that change and improvement are a constant, that there is a purpose for all this and so on. The second man didn't bother much with beliefs and philosophies, but was more focused on his effort to live up to his aspirations and rarely permitted chance to take a hold of his life. The first man now wonders how could he had been so foolish as to believe in something that might have made sense when he assumed that he would live until old age, but really offered no guarantees. But the second man has no regrets, for even though he might have failed to accomplish his dream due to a tragic outcome of events he had no control of, knows he at least tried his best and that gives him a sense of serenity that the first man will never experience.
Thus, if you really think about it, all that matters is effort really, not a goal, not a dream, but the effort of getting there. Effort is not merely a device to be used until a specific goal has been accomplished. Effort is a way of life. Effort is an end in itself, and a great and honorable one indeed. Effort guarantees improvement much more than any current belief or theory about life can. Effort is measurable in its effectiveness; beliefs are ambiguous and vague and often deceiving and misleading. One should believe in life, for life is beautiful and more abundant than we usually think. But one should also understand that effort is the only foolproof way of knowing for sure that we've had some input into our world, and that it is not all a matter of luck, destiny, talent or chance.
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