The game of football is in many ways quite interesting. And although my ties with the game are purely entertainment-oriented and rather inconsistent, my loyalty lies with a club that has also been largely inconsistent in recent times.

Been a Manchester United supporter for well over a decade, and I have disappointingly watched them go from being attacking giants some few years ago to a more defensive team in recent times. It’s sad to see a team that was once ruthless degenerate into just-above-average with much less fierceness in their style of play…

Well, by virtue of loyalty, I shouldn’t be out here dragging my team. Once a Red, Always a Red! Lol. However, many of us, by default, are like the current Manchester United — including me.

Stay with me, I’ll explain what I mean.

It is said that we are the sum total of our experiences. That is, a good part of what makes us “us”, comes from outside of us. Our environments, things we’ve seen or heard, the inputs of others in our lives, whether positive or negative, amongst other things, all seem to hold a stake in the people we are today. Likewise, our future experiences would also play a role in what we become in the future.

The big question now is… If our experiences weigh so much in determining our life’s direction, are they completely autonomous, or is it possible to interfere in the process and define our experiences?

Que Sera, Sera…

I guess most are familiar with this phrase that translates as “What[ever] will be, will be”. Popular as it is, I tend to have a little problem with it.

There are two major schools of thought to this statement. Some folks interpret it as “Everything is pre-determined, so why bother?”, while another group of people understands it to mean that “The future is unpredictable, and certain situations are indeed out of our control”.

The primary difference between both concepts is that the first group believes they have no say in the outcome of events, and the second category only resigns to their “fate” after doing all that is in their capacity. Little as the difference may seem, it sometimes makes all the difference.

The fickle finger of Fate

I am always careful with my usage of the word “fate”. And even more than my wariness of the vocabulary itself is my refusal to let it decide my outcomes — at least, to the highest degree possible.

From my not-so-many experiences, and from the experiences of others I collated, it is safe to say that fate, left to itself, is notorious for meting out more negative outcomes than positive. Thus the phrase “the fickle finger of fate”. Of course, there are exceptions where the lucky wheel turns in one’s favour and somehow things seem to go well for a while without any effort on the person’s end. But even such experiences are ephemeral and often unsustainable.

Back to The Beginning

Relating all of this to the opener, adapting a defensive style of play to life involves buying into the first school of thought of “Que Sera, Sera” (as explained above). It means letting life throw at you all its shots — which are mostly not the experiences we desire. It means handing over the autonomy of your outcome to fate and letting it decide the path of your life’s trajectory. Well, you might get one or two chances at a counter-attack and maybe even score a few goals in the process, but your chances of winning each match against life, and ultimately winning the trophy are greatly hampered.

There’s an alternative though… You can decide to stay on the attack, take charge of each game, pursue your life goals fiercely like your life depends on it — because it actually does. Seek to win every match life throws at you. Admittedly, you might not win all your matches, you might play your best and still lose from time to time, but you are guaranteed to have more wins.

This is where the second school of thought of “Que Sera, Sera” comes in. It is necessary to note that there are times when all our efforts just aren’t enough to turn things in our favour. In such situations, we are left with no choice but to accept the outcome of things. We must also learn to take our losses in good faith. Learn from them, and march on into the next match better prepared for victory and even with more gusto.

Good Things and Best Things

“Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.”

– Abraham Lincoln

Another popular saying around town is “Good things come to those who wait”. It is quite understandable that this saying is primarily to promote patience in our pursuits, but it is sometimes misinterpreted to encourage inaction towards our desired outcomes. Patience is a virtue and should be cultivated, but refraining from taking action entirely has never helped anybody achieve anything.

According to Abraham Lincoln, good things ‘might’ eventually come to those who wait, but only after the best things have been taken by those who demand them from life.

So are you gonna sit back, fold your arms and wait for the possible chance of a remnant, or would you be part of those that get the best of the lot?… You decide.

FUN FACT:
Manchester United won their fixture against Tottenham Hotspur this evening, and I feel like they validated my point by playing more on the offense today:)