For all the planning and plotting that I did before I acted, I know that I was shaped more by circumstance that by my own will I wonder sometimes if I'm not, after all, a piece in some other players game, following blindly his grand designs without ever knowing that my path along the board is only a feint, while the important matters are played out elsewhere by other men
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The speaker reflects that circumstances shaped them more than their will, wondering if they are just a pawn in someone else's plan.
- In plain terms
- I feel like I was shaped by events not my choices and maybe I am just a piece in another game.
- What can you take from it?
- Circumstances often outweigh personal will in shaping a life.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How much of your life was planned?
- Are you the player or the piece?
Another view
It may underestimate the power of individual choice.
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