Mindfulness asks us to focus on the present and detach from the past and future. Tempting fate is a helpful way to practice this. Intentionally tempting fate is a radical choice that eliminates fate’s power over our lives.
Society believes that tempting fate is dangerous. This relationship hands it enormous power and builds a collective anxiety that it will rule our lives if we step too close. Accordingly, we superstitiously avoid fate. That avoidance creates suffering because we second guess ourselves and obsess over the future. Is this fate or is this me?
Tempting fate means taking a leap of faith. Invalidating fate, blinking last as you stare down what our minds assume is an eventuality, kills fate’s power. Fate tries to confuse and monopolize our thoughts with the future. Rise above this, put intuition first and fear last.
I remember meeting a friend for coffee and worrying they wouldn’t show. They hadn’t text back to confirm our meetup, and I took this as a sign from fate that they were ignoring me. I imagined how I would feel if they never showed—how they wasted my time and how my day would be ruined. Fate was taunting me to listen to it.
Choose to be impervious to fate. Turn disappointment into excitement and find joy in overcoming fate’s predetermination. The next time you’re stuck in between action and in action, held back by fate, sprint forward, focus on the present, and you’ll probably be surprised. Fuck fate.