The argument regarding fate vs. free will is one of the oldest philosophical debates known to man
A few years ago, a friend of mine made the argument that free will is a myth and everything in life is pre-determined. I believe they held this belief as a defense mechanism against making any substantial changes in their life, as they were struggling with a variety of mental health issues.
The idea that everything that happens to us is the result of fate is an incredibly limiting belief, one that basically removes the possibility of making any sort of choice in our lives. It is inherently disempowering, as it assumes that we will never be able to make a decision that alters the course of our lives in any meaningful way.
This belief is seductive to those who are afraid of change and who believe they are doomed to be stuck in their circumstances for the rest of their lives. If you think your path in life is already set, you are relieved of the responsibility of guiding your direction.
Free will lies in our ability to respond
There are many forms of stimuli that we are presented with on a daily basis. It may be a co-worker lashing out irrationally at us for something they perceive we did wrong. It might be a news article that triggers an emotional response, causing us to become fearful or angry. It is anything that we see in the course of our day that elicits a response.
We cannot control the stimuli we witness, but our freedom comes in the ability to choose our response.
Victor Frankl, the founder of logotherapy, stated that "Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom."
Often, this space seems to be almost non-existent. Many people react to stimuli without allowing any time for contemplation. Allowing time for thoughtful reflection before responding can be immensely difficult, as the desire to immediately respond can feel overwhelming.
Increase the space between stimulus and response leads to an increase in choice
Is there someone in your life that you find yourself consistently getting into heated arguments with? Perhaps a behavior or personality trait always triggers an emotional response, which inevitably leads to a fight that you didn't intend on having but it felt like you were powerless to avoid.
Allowing space to breathe and contemplate prior to responding can seem impossible sometimes. In the age of smartphones and instant gratification, our attention spans have shrunk to the point where we are often running on auto-pilot.
If we desire more freedom and choice in our daily lives, we must find a way to allow more space prior to formulating our response. Whether through practices such as meditation or other mindful techniques, our ability to choose will only increase when we stop the emotional wheels from turning and leading us down the same path we would like to avoid.
This space is what separates man from animals
When something happens in nature, animals do not have the ability to reflect and make a different decision. They are pure stimulus-response creatures, removed from any conscious decision making or reflection about their circumstances.
Humans have the capacity to contemplate what is happening and make a different choice that can lead to a new outcome. This ability can cause a great amount of suffering, as we can spend much of our days torturing ourselves regarding what could have happened, or what should have happened.
Indeed, conscious awareness can often be as much of a curse as it is a gift. But without this gift/curse, we are no different from the animal kingdom. If we are to increase our freedom, we must do everything possible to increase the space between a stimulus and response.
Like anything, it requires practice and patience in order to increase this space. But as you start to train yourself to create more room for reflection, you will find it becomes easier to choose your response instead of having your response choose your life for you.
And that is an empowering feeling, one that should be cherished and embraced.
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