I am taking a Life Coaching certification course and one of the topics that really grabbed my attention was Passion vs. Purpose. However, as I prepared to write about it, I realised that there is an another concept that needs to be tackled first before I delve into Passion vs. Purpose, and I found it absolutely fascinating.
Destiny and Fate are often – and wrongly – used interchangeably, without some people even bothering to look up the difference.
FATE comes from the latin fatum, meaning what has been spoken. Fatum did not originate from latin thought, and it is derived from Fari or Farsi as we know it now, meaning to speak or to be more precise, the gods have spoken. Fate is pre-determined, inevitable, set by outside forces often associated with a higher power and carries a pessimistic tone.
DESTINY on the other hand hails from the latin destinare, which means to determine, to intend, devote or dedicate. Destiny is based entirely on your personal choices, associated with free will. It is deliberate and usually carries a decidedly positive note.
Admittedly, it is difficult to determine whether a situation is fate or destiny unless you sit down and take stock of the decisions and events that led you to the present moment. Let’s face it, how many of us really bother with existentialism and succumb instead to fatalism to justify the frustration or misery?
Curiously enough, when looking into the linguistics of fate and destiny, I stumbled upon a curious fact. Unlike English, in German, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Thai and Russian there is only a single word for both concepts.
* German – Schicksal
* Spanish and Portuguese – Destino (which also means destination)
* French – Destin
* Thai – โชคชะตา (Chokh chatā)
* Russian – судьба (sud’ba),
On the other hand, Filipino and Hindi make clear distinctions between fate and destiny, which I account for as the dominant role of religion and faith in the culture, unlike the aforementioned cultures, where existentialism plays a more substantial role:
* Filipino – tadhana (destiny) vs kapalaran (fate)
* Hindi – तकदीर (destiny / takadeer) vs. भाग्य (fate / bhaagy)
The curious exception here is dutch, which conforms to the other European languages of having the word lot used for both destiny and fate. However, in dutch there is also noodlot / het lot for fate that are also used for destiny. Then there is also the word bestemming that is used for destiny but also for destination, same as in Spanish, but this is where it gets really interesting, because the word lotsbestemming which would literally translate as fated destiny, also means life purpose. (Thank you to PR for the native help!).
My challenge for you this evening is to pinpoint different aspects in your life that you feel are problematic and see if you can determine whether it is fate or destiny at play. On that note, stay tuned for the next instalment of Froggy Existentialism as I explore Passion vs. Purpose, a crucial step in finding your authentic self.
FrogDiva Thoughts 