Formula for happiness

‘It’s all my fate!” We have heard this phrase often.  Sometimes we’ve used it ourselves.  When we face unforeseen setbacks in life, we blame it on our fate.

“This had to happen; it was destined for me,” we say grudgingly for all the misfortunes that come our way. This attitude helps us to accept the tragedies that befall us, to some extent.  

However, “it’s all my fate” attitude makes us bitter and unhappy over time.  Though we accept the suffering, the resignation with which we do, does not put us on the path to peace and contentment.  It is here that Amor Fati as advocated by the German Philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche, is worth contemplating. 

The Latin phrase, Amor Fati means love of fate. As the term indicates, it hinges on the principle of loving our fate and not merely accepting it.

Thus, it calls for going beyond acceptance to loving the turn of events that unfold in our lives. 

Simply put, this philosophy affirms that everything in life, including our sufferings and trials, happen for a reason. This being so, we need to look at them as being for our good or at least that they are necessary for us. When we look at it this way, we can love everything that happens to us.

Friedrich Nietzsche, believed that this attitude was the only formula for greatness and happiness in a human being. “To affirm life and to accept all experiences, not just the positive ones, was what made life worth living,” declared the philosopher.

He pointed out that “one should not only be willing to endure the events of life but also love them, desiring to live the same life over and over for all eternity.”  

This idea of Nietzsche also resonates with Stoic philosophy at the heart of which lies the acceptance of everything that is beyond our immediate control and gathering the strength to face them cheerfully. 

To conclude that “it’s all my fate” and to accept the tragedies of life diffidently is not the best way to look at life and its vicissitudes.

To believe that there is value in everything and to love every experience of life which is the Amor Fati formula for happiness, is in
the end, the happiest way to live
our lives.