--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A man does not make his destiny: he…" description: "\"A man does not make his destiny: he accepts it or denies it.\" — Ursula K. Le Guin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d1/ursula-k-le-guin-138_accepting_a-man-does-not-make-his-destiny-he-accep_2221700.jpg" --- # A man does not make his destiny: he accepts it or denies it. ![“A man does not make his destiny: he accepts it or denies it.” quote by Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d1/ursula-k-le-guin-138_accepting_a-man-does-not-make-his-destiny-he-accep_2221700.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d1/ursula-k-le-guin-138_accepting_a-man-does-not-make-his-destiny-he-accep_2221700.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d1/ursula-k-le-guin-138_accepting_a-man-does-not-make-his-destiny-he-accep_2221700.jpg) > “A man does not make his destiny: he accepts it or denies it.” [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Destiny is a choice between acceptance and rebellion. **In simple terms:** You shape your fate by embracing or rejecting it. Key Takeaway Choose agency over resignation. Themes free will destiny choice Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career planning - political activism - personal crises - relationship decisions Key Concepts philosophy ethics Questions to Reflect On - Do you accept your path or challenge it? - What consequences follow each option? A Different Perspective Denial may lead to passive suffering. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accepting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accepting/) [Accepts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accepts/) [Accepts Denies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accepts-denies-4960968/) [Denies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/denies/) [Deny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deny/) [Destiny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destiny/) [Destiny Accepts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destiny-accepts-4960969/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Fate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fate/) [Man Does](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-does/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) ## Related quotes > [The soul is that which denies the body. For example, that which refuses to run when the body trembles, to strike when the body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-rene-lesage/the-soul-is-that-which-denies-the-body-for-example-that-which-refuses/) [Alain-Rene Lesage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-rene-lesage/) > [The more a man denies himself, the more he shall receive from heaven. Naked, I seek the camp of those who covet nothing. \[Lat.,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/the-more-a-man-denies-himself-the-more-he-shall-receive-from-heaven/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Films that are entertainments give simple answers but I think that's ultimately more cynical, as it denies the viewer room to think. 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And denies the rest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/the-truly-faithless-one-is-the-one-who-makes-love-to-only-a-fraction/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [Real or not, when a person denies God, they often try and fill that higher power void with something else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-crowder/real-or-not-when-a-person-denies-god-they-often-try-and-fill-that/) [Steven Crowder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-crowder/) > [“One who denies the truth cannot go anywhere because he cannot face anything, starting from the many difficulties one already has where one is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jocelyn-soriano/one-who-denies-the-truth-cannot-go-anywhere-because-he-cannot-face/) [Jocelyn Soriano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jocelyn-soriano/) > [Everybody denies I am a genius - but nobody ever called me one!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-welles/everybody-denies-i-am-a-genius-but-nobody-ever-called-me-one/) [Orson Welles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-welles/) > [“The Agnostic is one who asserts 'what no one denies' that there are limits to the sphere of human intelligence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-stephen/the-agnostic-is-one-who-asserts-what-no-one-denies-that-there-are/) [Leslie Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-stephen/) > [No Child Left Behind widens the gap between the races more than any piece of educational legislation I've seen in 40 years. It denies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-kozol/no-child-left-behind-widens-the-gap-between-the-races-more-than-any/) [Jonathan Kozol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-kozol/) > [Whoever sets any bounds for the reconstructive power of the religious life over the social relations and institutions of men, to that extent denies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-rauschenbusch/whoever-sets-any-bounds-for-the-reconstructive-power-of-the-religious/) [Walter Rauschenbusch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-rauschenbusch/) > [“Don’t you think it’s a little sick the way that most of the culture denies death? It’s there all the time, and most people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trish-cook-brendan-halpin/don-t-you-think-it-s-a-little-sick-the-way-that-most-of-the-culture/) [Trish Cook, Brendan Halpin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trish-cook-brendan-halpin/) ## More by Ursula K. Le Guin > [“...I wore his blood for clothing, on my legs and thighs and hands: a dry, stiff, brown garment with no warmth in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-wore-his-blood-for-clothing-on-my-legs-and-thighs-and-hands-a-dry/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [Translation is entirely mysterious. Increasingly I have felt that the art of writing is itself translating, or more like translating than it is like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/translation-is-entirely-mysterious-increasingly-i-have-felt-that-the/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“Aeneas' mother is a star?" "No; a goddess." I said cautiously, "Venus is the power that we invoke in spring, in the garden, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/aeneas-mother-is-a-star-no-a-goddess-i-said-cautiously-venus-is-the/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“Meaning - this is perhaps the common note, the bane I am seeking. What is the Meaning of this book, this event in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/meaning-this-is-perhaps-the-common-note-the-bane-i-am-seeking-what-is/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [For fantasy is true, of course. It isn't factual, but it is true. Children know that. Adults know it too, and that is precisely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/for-fantasy-is-true-of-course-it-isn-t-factual-but-it-is-true/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“. . . chronosophy does involve ethics. Because our sense of time involves our ability to separate cause and effect, means and end. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/chronosophy-does-involve-ethics-because-our-sense-of-time-involves/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“If both you and your plane are on time, the airport is merely a diffuse, short, miserable prelude to the intense, long, miserable plane…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/if-both-you-and-your-plane-are-on-time-the-airport-is-merely-a/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“The author is not impartial. Dystopia is not tragedy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/the-author-is-not-impartial-dystopia-is-not-tragedy/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [Between thought and spoken word is a gap where intention can enter, the symbol be twisted aside, and the lie come to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/between-thought-and-spoken-word-is-a-gap-where-intention-can-enter/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [I have no control over my writing. I have lots of good intentions, but no control. There's a story that wants to be told.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-have-no-control-over-my-writing-i-have-lots-of-good-intentions-but/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“I did a lot today. That is, I did something. The only thing I have ever done. I pressed a button. It took the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-did-a-lot-today-that-is-i-did-something-the-only-thing-i-have-ever/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [To me the female principle is, or at least historically has been, basically anarchic. It values order without constraint, rule by custom not by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/to-me-the-female-principle-is-or-at-least-historically-has-been/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“Hector had no virtue?” “Of course he did. He won all his battles, till the last one.” “We all do,” Aeneas remarked.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/hector-had-no-virtue-of-course-he-did-he-won-all-his-battles-till-the/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“I was willing to believe him that most modern writing was trash, on the evidence that so much old writing was trash; but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-was-willing-to-believe-him-that-most-modern-writing-was-trash-on/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“Can women operate as women in a male institution without becoming imitation men?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/can-women-operate-as-women-in-a-male-institution-without-becoming/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) [Explore all 1,114 Ursula K. Le Guin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) ## More Accepting quotes > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [Laughing, laughing, laughing, laughing! It is the jester! A voice from the Void, to cheer poor Cicero! I accept your gift, dearest Night Mother.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/laughing-laughing-laughing-laughing-it-is-the-jester-a-voice-from-the/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [This duo inside of me causes the perfect opportunity to live and learn twice as fast as those who choose to accept simplicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/this-duo-inside-of-me-causes-the-perfect-opportunity-to-live-and/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [We only enter into the full life if our faith gives thanks. Because how else do we accept His free gift of salvation if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/we-only-enter-into-the-full-life-if-our-faith-gives-thanks-because/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [Don't be bitter. Everybody suffers. If you can accept your suffering then you will understand other people better. Be grateful for pain. Love life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-be-bitter-everybody-suffers-if-you-can-accept-your-suffering/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [It takes an unusually philosophic mind to accept that all one’s suffering might be to no end, really, in the larger scheme of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-takes-an-unusually-philosophic-mind-to-accept-that-all-one-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No nation being under another nation can accept gifts, and kick at the responsibility attached to those gifts, imposed by the conquering nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/no-nation-being-under-another-nation-can-accept-gifts-and-kick-at-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Even with clothing naked animals, there were people who wanted to send in money. A woman in Santa Barbara, California, sent a $40,000 check.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-abel/even-with-clothing-naked-animals-there-were-people-who-wanted-to-send/) [Alan Abel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-abel/) > [Society understands the architecture of academia and knows there are relevant qualifications in different fields, and the media accepts the idea of specialisations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/society-understands-the-architecture-of-academia-and-knows-there-are/) [Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/) > [Whatever your conscious mind assumes and believes to be true, your subconscious mind will accept and bring to pass. Believe in good fortune, divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-murphy/whatever-your-conscious-mind-assumes-and-believes-to-be-true-your/) [Joseph Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-murphy/) > [Losing someone is easy, but accepting it is hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/losing-someone-is-easy-but-accepting-it-is-hard/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [… and so he tried to accept the ache in his heart as what Dr. Larch would call the common symptoms of normal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/and-so-he-tried-to-accept-the-ache-in-his-heart-as-what-dr-larch/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [I think what was special about 'Music by Prudence' was the classic story of the title subject's life path - from being an outcast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-think-what-was-special-about-music-by-prudence-was-the-classic/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [As my films are born at the moment when they are reflected into another person's mind and memories, there are no misconceptions. I totally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pirjo-honkasalo/as-my-films-are-born-at-the-moment-when-they-are-reflected-into/) [Pirjo Honkasalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pirjo-honkasalo/) [Browse all 6,788 Accepting quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accepting/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A man does not make his destiny: he accepts it or denies it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ursula K. 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