--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There's much to be said for challenging…" description: "\"There's much to be said for challenging fate instead of ducking behind it.\" — Diana Trilling" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/064/diana-trilling-27127_action_there-s-much-to-be-said-for-challenging_1728293.png" --- # There's much to be said for challenging fate instead of… ![“There's much to be said for challenging fate instead of ducking behind it.” quote by Diana Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/064/diana-trilling-27127_action_there-s-much-to-be-said-for-challenging_1728293.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/064/diana-trilling-27127_action_there-s-much-to-be-said-for-challenging_1728293.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/064/diana-trilling-27127_action_there-s-much-to-be-said-for-challenging_1728293.png) > “There's much to be said for challenging fate instead of ducking behind it.” [Diana Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-trilling/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Challenging destiny requires active effort, whereas avoiding it leads to passivity. **In simple terms:** Facing fate demands action; evading it leads to stagnation. Key Takeaway Embrace agency over resignation. Themes agency fate resilience Mood determined hopeful Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - career decisions - personal crises - social activism - creative projects Key Concepts existentialism free will determination Questions to Reflect On - What fate are you avoiding? - How can you turn fear into motivation? A Different Perspective Overcoming fear of failure can be difficult and may cause hesitation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action/) [Challenges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/challenges/) [Destiny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destiny/) [Fate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fate/) [Fate and destiny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fate-and-destiny/) [My destiny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/my-destiny/) ## Related quotes > [As long as we persist in our deepest destiny, we will continue to grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/as-long-as-we-persist-in-our-deepest-destiny-we-will-continue-to-grow/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) > [Love the people with whom fate brings you together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/love-the-people-with-whom-fate-brings-you-together/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Nor problem of human destiny is beyond human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/nor-problem-of-human-destiny-is-beyond-human-beings/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [“Luck is the bastard child of Fate and Destiny.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carroll-bryant/luck-is-the-bastard-child-of-fate-and-destiny/) [Carroll Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carroll-bryant/) > [Finding the right person is important but having to be with the rightful one could really be a twist to fate and destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/finding-the-right-person-is-important-but-having-to-be-with-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Fate leads the willing, and drags along the reluctant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/fate-leads-the-willing-and-drags-along-the-reluctant/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [“Fate and destiny had held enough power over Janie for this lifetime, and she was done waiting for the sky to fall.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-zanetti/fate-and-destiny-had-held-enough-power-over-janie-for-this-lifetime/) [Rebecca Zanetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-zanetti/) > [Faber est suae quisque fortunae. Each man is the architect of his own fate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/appius-claudius-caecus/faber-est-suae-quisque-fortunae-each-man-is-the-architect-of-his-own/) Appius Claudius Caecus > [The notion of fate and destiny is a very Greek concept. Working in the theater you do think a lot about that, because as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/the-notion-of-fate-and-destiny-is-a-very-greek-concept-working-in-the/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) > [He cannot complain of a hard sentence, who is made master of his own fate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/he-cannot-complain-of-a-hard-sentence-who-is-made-master-of-his-own/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [I didn't fall in love with you. I walked into love with you, with my eyes wide open, choosing to take every step along…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/i-didn-t-fall-in-love-with-you-i-walked-into-love-with-you-with-my/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [“I do believe in fate and destiny, but I also believe we are only fated to do the things that we'd choose anyway.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/i-do-believe-in-fate-and-destiny-but-i-also-believe-we-are-only-fated/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [I really believe that coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-moyers/i-really-believe-that-coincidence-is-god-s-way-of-remaining-anonymous/) [Bill Moyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-moyers/) > [There is so much more to slaying dragons than a code of honor and a damsel. It's a complicated series of fate and destiny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-so-much-more-to-slaying-dragons-than-a-code-of-honor-and-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Casting sometimes is fate and destiny more than skill and talent, from a director's point of view.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/casting-sometimes-is-fate-and-destiny-more-than-skill-and-talent-from/) [Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) ## More by Diana Trilling > [The distinction that Jews have themselves always made between Jews of German origin and Jews of East European origin is as stringent as that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-trilling/the-distinction-that-jews-have-themselves-always-made-between-jews-of/) [Diana Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-trilling/) > [At best-which is to say, even where our knowledge of a case comes to us only through courtroom evidence-it is difficult for the legal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-trilling/at-best-which-is-to-say-even-where-our-knowledge-of-a-case-comes-to/) [Diana Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-trilling/) > [Ideology is the sterner face of myth and we're a myth-making people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-trilling/ideology-is-the-sterner-face-of-myth-and-we-re-a-myth-making-people/) [Diana Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-trilling/) > [Surely going to bed with a man before marriage was the most courageous act of my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-trilling/surely-going-to-bed-with-a-man-before-marriage-was-the-most/) [Diana Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-trilling/) > [We lived our lives as if life was forever. To live one's life without a sense of time is to squander it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-trilling/we-lived-our-lives-as-if-life-was-forever-to-live-one-s-life-without/) [Diana Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-trilling/) > [In the bad sixties, when drugs came into widespread use among adolescents and when Scarsdale mothers developed the habit of not asking about each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-trilling/in-the-bad-sixties-when-drugs-came-into-widespread-use-among/) [Diana Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-trilling/) > [“At a time in our culture when violence was achieving a new legitimacy as a form of public assertion, there was perhaps a special…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-trilling/at-a-time-in-our-culture-when-violence-was-achieving-a-new-legitimacy/) [Diana Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-trilling/) > [Long-married couples balance their checkbooks as a substitute for love-making, or they refuse each other love by protesting one another's financial error or excess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-trilling/long-married-couples-balance-their-checkbooks-as-a-substitute-for/) [Diana Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-trilling/) > [Where there are children, people become neighbors; they don't merely hold property adjacent to one another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-trilling/where-there-are-children-people-become-neighbors-they-don-t-merely/) [Diana Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-trilling/) > [Wit isn't a useful instrument of defense; it may make a short-run appeal, but it creates a backlash- one saw this in the Hiss…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-trilling/wit-isn-t-a-useful-instrument-of-defense-it-may-make-a-short-run/) [Diana Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-trilling/) > [Behind the contained and orderly lives we lead as members of the respectable middle class there's a terrible human capacity that may one day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-trilling/behind-the-contained-and-orderly-lives-we-lead-as-members-of-the/) [Diana Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-trilling/) > [ \[On Marilyn Monroe:\] I think my response to her death was the common one: it came to me with the impact of a personal… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-trilling/on-marilyn-monroe-i-think-my-response-to-her-death-was-the-common-one/) [Diana Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-trilling/) > [Whoever had known sexual jealousy, that most destructive of emotions-and this would be so for men no less than women-had known madness and had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-trilling/whoever-had-known-sexual-jealousy-that-most-destructive-of-emotions/) [Diana Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-trilling/) > [Touch a university with hostile hands and the blood you draw is prompt, copious, and real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-trilling/touch-a-university-with-hostile-hands-and-the-blood-you-draw-is/) [Diana Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-trilling/) > [I learned early in life that to laugh before breakfast was to cry before dinner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-trilling/i-learned-early-in-life-that-to-laugh-before-breakfast-was-to-cry/) [Diana Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-trilling/) [Explore all 21 Diana Trilling quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-trilling/) ## More Action quotes > [I always say there are two things to be successful. The first is decide exactly what you want - set your goals - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/i-always-say-there-are-two-things-to-be-successful-the-first-is/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [You'd be surprised how hard it can often be to translate an action into an idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/you-d-be-surprised-how-hard-it-can-often-be-to-translate-an-action/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [Every thought I have imprisioned in expression I must free by my deeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kahlil-gibran/every-thought-i-have-imprisioned-in-expression-i-must-free-by-my-deeds/) [Kahlil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kahlil-gibran/) > [It took me 20 years to buy an electric typewriter, because I was afraid it would be too sensitive. I like to bang the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/it-took-me-20-years-to-buy-an-electric-typewriter-because-i-was/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [Every action that helps us manifest our divine nature more and more is good; every action that retards it is evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/every-action-that-helps-us-manifest-our-divine-nature-more-and-more/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [As you begin changing your thinking, start immediately to change your behaviour. Begin to act the part of the person you would like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-you-begin-changing-your-thinking-start-immediately-to-change-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's easy to say, let's go in and get the bad guys. But you have a divided country of Sunnis and Shias. The United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-gabbard/it-s-easy-to-say-let-s-go-in-and-get-the-bad-guys-but-you-have-a/) [Tulsi Gabbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-gabbard/) > [For comedy action, I must know the language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammo-hung/for-comedy-action-i-must-know-the-language/) [Sammo Hung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammo-hung/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“Action is a powerful thing. When you smile through your sadness, it can completely change your outlook. Try it! Smile :) Now hold onto…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leticia-rae/action-is-a-powerful-thing-when-you-smile-through-your-sadness-it-can/) [Leticia Rae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leticia-rae/) > [I reject criticism because the last thing I wanted was to sit there and look at people talking. I think people are conditioned to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-tyrnauer/i-reject-criticism-because-the-last-thing-i-wanted-was-to-sit-there/) [Matt Tyrnauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-tyrnauer/) > [“I take my actions because of my passion not because of compulsion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/i-take-my-actions-because-of-my-passion-not-because-of-compulsion/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [When the first Superman movie came out I was frequently asked "What is a hero?" ...My answer was that a hero is someone who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-reeve/when-the-first-superman-movie-came-out-i-was-frequently-asked-what-is/) [Christopher Reeve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-reeve/) [Browse all 14,940 Action quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There's much to be said for challenging fate instead of ducking behind it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Diana Trilling" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-trilling/there-s-much-to-be-said-for-challenging-fate-instead-of-ducking/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Action" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-trilling/there-s-much-to-be-said-for-challenging-fate-instead-of-ducking/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/064/diana-trilling-27127_action_there-s-much-to-be-said-for-challenging_1728293.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/064/diana-trilling-27127_action_there-s-much-to-be-said-for-challenging_1728293.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/064/diana-trilling-27127_action_there-s-much-to-be-said-for-challenging_1728293.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There's much to be said for challenging fate instead of ducking behind it.” — Diana Trilling", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Diana Trilling", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-trilling/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There's much to be said for...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-trilling/there-s-much-to-be-said-for-challenging-fate-instead-of-ducking/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-trilling/there-s-much-to-be-said-for-challenging-fate-instead-of-ducking/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```