--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Your life is not predestined, as in…" description: "\"Your life is not predestined, as in Calvinist thought, where everything is written down in the book of life long before your birth and is inescapable. ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c5d/james-hillman-2336_accidents_your-life-is-not-predestined-as-in-calvi_481957.jpg" --- # Your life is not predestined, as in Calvinist thought… ![“Your life is not predestined, as in Calvinist thought, where everything is written down in the book of life long before your birth and is inescapable. There are choices, accidents, hints and wrong paths, and the ego you, or whatever you call yourself, is a factor in all this. But there is still…” quote by James Hillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c5d/james-hillman-2336_accidents_your-life-is-not-predestined-as-in-calvi_481957.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c5d/james-hillman-2336_accidents_your-life-is-not-predestined-as-in-calvi_481957.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c5d/james-hillman-2336_accidents_your-life-is-not-predestined-as-in-calvi_481957.jpg) > “Your life is not predestined, as in Calvinist thought, where everything is written down in the book of life long before your birth and is inescapable. There are choices, accidents, hints and wrong paths, and the ego you, or whatever you call yourself, is a factor in all this. But there is still this other factor that keeps calling. At some moment, people turn, in despair or when they are unable to go any longer on a certain route, and this inner voice says, "Where have you been? I've been waiting for you to turn to me for a long time."” [James Hillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hillman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life isn’t pre‑written; it’s shaped by choices, accidents, and an inner calling that invites us to turn toward deeper purpose. **In simple terms:** Life is shaped by choices and an inner voice. Key Takeaway Listen to your inner calling. Themes choice destiny inner voice purpose psychology Mood reflective hopeful Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career decisions - personal crises - creative blocks - spiritual seeking Key Concepts Archetype self‑actualization free will Questions to Reflect On - What inner voice are you ignoring? - How can you discern true calling from fear? A Different Perspective The inner voice may be ignored or misinterpreted, leading to stagnation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accidents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accidents/) [Birth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Book of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book-of-life/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Calling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/calling/) [Calvinist Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/calvinist-thought-4143401/) [Certain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain/) [Choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) [Despair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair/) [Ego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ego/) [Factors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/factors/) [Hints](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hints/) [Inner voice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inner-voice/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-is/) [Life long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-long/) [Life Predestined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-predestined-2577266/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Long life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-life/) [Long time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-time/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Path](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/path/) [Paths Ego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paths-ego-4143400/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Predestined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/predestined/) [Predestined Calvinist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/predestined-calvinist-4143399/) [Routes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/routes/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Turns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turns/) [Voice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voice/) [Waiting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waiting/) [Waiting for you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waiting-for-you/) [Written](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/written/) [Wrong path](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrong-path/) ## Related quotes > [The popular culture says . . . 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But for Ove it was someone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/all-roads-lead-to-something-you-were-always-predestined-to-do-and-for/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [It is inconceivable that the God who gives Himself in His Son to save us, should have created some people ordained to evil and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/it-is-inconceivable-that-the-god-who-gives-himself-in-his-son-to-save/) [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) > [“Depressed people tended to end things on special occasions and party goers drank too much and then got behind the wheels of vehicles. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbi-glines/depressed-people-tended-to-end-things-on-special-occasions-and-party/) [Abbi Glines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abbi-glines/) > [“I stared up at the black chiffon and tried to imagine my eternity. It looked very bleak. Hopefully, insanity would claim me quickly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbi-glines/i-stared-up-at-the-black-chiffon-and-tried-to-imagine-my-eternity-it/) [Abbi Glines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abbi-glines/) > [“It was curious how that predestined horror moved in and out of one’s consciousness. There it lay, fixed in future times, preceding death as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/it-was-curious-how-that-predestined-horror-moved-in-and-out-of-one-s/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Each of us is born with a share of purity, predestined to be corrupted by our commerce with mankind, by that sin against solitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/each-of-us-is-born-with-a-share-of-purity-predestined-to-be-corrupted/) [Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/) > [“The destiny moves according to a predestined speed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maloy-krishna-dhar/the-destiny-moves-according-to-a-predestined-speed/) [Maloy Krishna Dhar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maloy-krishna-dhar/) > [“It is you I foreknew and have predestined for such a time as this. Just as My heart has so eagerly chosen you, William…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-j-chrisman/it-is-you-i-foreknew-and-have-predestined-for-such-a-time-as-this/) [M. J. Chrisman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-j-chrisman/) > [There's two kinds of evil that horror fiction always deals with. 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As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hillman/each-life-is-formed-by-its-unique-image-an-image-that-is-the-essence/) [James Hillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hillman/) > [Fear is a huge thing for older people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hillman/fear-is-a-huge-thing-for-older-people/) [James Hillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hillman/) > [It's a terrible cruelty of predatory capitalism: both parents now have to work. A family has to have two incomes in order to buy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hillman/it-s-a-terrible-cruelty-of-predatory-capitalism-both-parents-now-have/) [James Hillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hillman/) > [You know, people come to therapy really for a blessing. 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So I'm a victim again. A result.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hillman/i-m-the-result-of-upbringing-class-race-gender-social-prejudices-and/) [James Hillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hillman/) > [There is more in a human life than our theories of it allow. 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Relationships fail not because we have stopped loving but because we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hillman/love-alone-is-not-enough-without-imagination-love-stales-into/) [James Hillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hillman/) [Explore all 171 James Hillman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hillman/) ## More Accidents quotes > [Almost all accidents take place because of human distraction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-thrun/almost-all-accidents-take-place-because-of-human-distraction/) [Sebastian Thrun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-thrun/) > [It was no accident, no coincidence, that the seasons came round and round year after year. 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