I was listening to a webinar the other day and it really got me thinking about the difference between fate and destiny.
I’m a believer in destiny and have always done what I can to figure out my destiny, be in alignment with my destiny and allow it to blossom as my life unfolds.
But I’d never really thought about fate (probably because I defiantly refuse to feel like something is ‘fated’!).
Listening to this webinar, the difference between the two really hit home.
They explained destiny as something that is predestined. You could think of it like a roadmap that your soul laid out BEFORE it landed in the body you inhabit that was born into this human world.
I’ve read lots of other books that support this idea, that as a soul we came here with a plan for what we wanted to learn, what we wanted to create and what we wanted to experience while we were here, and, of course, who we were going to meet up with to help us with those things (think soul mates or soul buddies!).
If you think back over your life you can probably spot some pivotal moments where things just fell into place, or you were decisive about a course of action and that led the way to you meeting someone or doing something that played a big part in your life.
Pivotal moments…
In my late twenties, when I was living in London the first time around, I went on holiday to Malta. While I was there out on the water in a boat in my bikini soaking up the sun and feeling completely relaxed, it hit me that I needed to go home. Just like that, out of the blue.
Within two months, I’d packed up and headed home to Australia. One year later I met my first soul mate. (Now that, my friend, is a whole other story – for now I’ll stick with the destiny story!)
Three and a half years later, I was offered a job back in London. But here’s the funny thing. Before the words came out of my boss’s mouth offering me the job, I knew what he was going to say (I don’t mean literally – the changes had all been kept hush hush so this was the first I was hearing about it). And before he finished his sentence, I knew I would say yes and move back to London. Internally, there was no question, it was just a resounding ‘this is right’.
People often ask me why I live in London when I could be back in Australia, and this is why. I call it my inner compass or inner guidance, which has always told me very clearly where I need to be. So until it points in another direction, London is where I will stay. (Technically I now live in the lovely Hertfordshire countryside, but close enough to London!)
Looking back, I can see many things that were destined in my life and it’s that inner compass that we all have, that shows us where we need to be, where we need to go and who we need to do it with. For me it’s a feeling of ‘rightness’.
I know it’s not always that easy, and it certainly hasn’t always been that easy for me, especially when it comes to matters of the heart.
But the point is, following a destiny path is about choice. In those examples above, I felt my inner guidance go ping, and I chose to follow it.
I could have talked myself out of moving home and stayed in London. I could have told my boss, hell no, I don’t want to go back to London and given myself all the reasons why it was the wrong time or I shouldn’t do it or given in to my fears of the unknown with that kind of move.
But I chose to listen to my inner compass or inner guidance, which w
e all have, which told me this was the right way forward for me.
Which leads me to fate…
Fate is what happens when we LET life dictate our choices.
It happens when we ignore our inner guidance, nudges, and our heart’s desires.
And it happens when you stop believing you can do anything to change your experience or your circumstances.
When you buy into all the limiting beliefs you hold, all the stories about what is or isn’t possible for you as a person, then your life is on a set trajectory determined by those beliefs and stories. That is fate in action.
Imagine you’re on a path and the road forks in front of you – curving away to the right is fate, and off to the left is destiny.
Do nothing to change your mental/emotional reality and you’ll keep going along the fate path. Your future will be determined by your past.
Choose to align with your inner compass, to follow your intuition, to learn to see through the false stories that limit what you believe is possible for yourself, and you are on the path to meet your Destiny.
Right now, do you feel like you’re following the path of fate or destiny?
Do you feel like you’re allowing life to happen to you, or do you feel like you’re leading your life?
How connected are you to your inner compass (or intuition or inner guidance)?
In this moment, what is it nudging you to do in each area of your life? (ie. Health, work, relationships, money, self, home.)
If you’re not sure, a great way to connect in is to sit quietly with your journal and imagine you’re having a conversation with the wisest part of yourself, the part that knows exactly what to do next, and ask what is the way forward here? Three other really great specific questions to ask are:
1. What do I really desire in this area of my life?
2. What do I need to let go of or stop doing to allow that to happen?
3. What do I need to actively do to support that becoming a reality?
Over to you
I’d love to hear if this blog resonates with you or do you have a different take on fate v destiny? Where do you think you might have been accepting fate, or how are you opening to your destiny?
Choosing your destiny path is courageous – it requires you to be bold, committed, face your fears, take risks and have faith, which is sometimes easier said than done! When you’re stuck in your own stories from the past it can feel confusing and really difficult to see the path through the overgrowth. (Been there!)
If you’d love some support to get clear on the stories that are keeping you stuck, reconnect with your inner guidance, and rekindle the motivation that comes from knowing the next step (or two!), then let’s have a chat. Book in for a complimentary 50min Destiny Reignited Call here.
You are in charge my friend, go grab that destiny.
Lynn x