“Que Sera Sera”- whatever will be, will be.
It sounds comforting; it feels peaceful, and it gives the illusion that the future is already written and all we have to do is sit back and watch it unfold.
But the truth is harsher, wiser, and far more empowering: What will be will NOT be, unless you make it happen.
Destiny does not fall into your lap. Results do not appear by accident. Your future is not automated; it is constructed, brick by brick, by the decisions you make and the work you do.
If you do NOT participate in your future, you surrender it. This is the real meaning behind achieving anything worthwhile in life.
The Problem With “Que Sera Sera” Thinking
The phrase “que sera sera” becomes dangerous when we use it as a:
- reason for procrastination
- justification for laziness
- excuse to avoid responsibility
- reason to avoid discipline
- shield to escape effort
It becomes a way of saying: “I do not want to try, let the universe handle it.” But life does not reward wishers, life rewards workers. And whatever “will be” is shaped by what you do, or fail to do.
Fate is NOT Passive; It is a Reaction to Your Effort
Your effort is the raw material of your destiny! Your consistency is the blueprint! Your discipline is the builder!
If you do nothing, nothing happens. If you do little, little happens. And if you do a lot, a lot happens.
God, life, success, opportunity; they all respond to participation, not passivity.
Doing the Work With All Your Might
In the article “Doing Your Work With All Your Might”, I wrote about the calling to give your best, to pour yourself into the task at hand with energy, focus, and urgency.
Why is that?
- Because half-effort produces half-results.
- Because delayed effort produces delayed results.
- And because no effort produces no results at all.
Que Sera Sera becomes true only for the person who works with all their might, not the one who sits and hopes.
The future bends toward those who push it.
For some cases, if not most cases, life does not come with a rehearsal. We do not get do-overs on today’s opportunities, missed chances, or the work we leave unfinished and that is why Ecclesiastes 9:10 speaks so directly and powerfully to the core of how we should live:
“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might…” – Ecclesiastes 9:10
This is not just a piece of religious wisdom; it is life advice of the highest order. It is practical, urgent, and very relevant, especially in our world that often encourages procrastination, half-effort, or mediocrity. The verse reminds us that whatever we have been given to do, wherever we find ourselves, it deserves our full effort, not someday, but right now and always.
Continue Reading: Doing Your Work With All Your Might
You Cannot Work Smart If You Don’t Work Hard
People love the idea of “working smart,” but working smart is a refinement, and not a replacement to hard work.
And again in the article I wrote “You Can Not Work Smart If You Don’t Work Hard,” I showed that smart strategies only work when there is consistent effort supporting them.
- You can not optimize what you have not even started.
- You can not refine what you have not built.
- And you can not improve what you have not created.
Working smart without working hard is like trying to sharpen a sword you refuse to forge.
Hard work is the foundation! Smart work is the enhancement! Success is the result!
I’m almost certain you’ve operated by the “Don’t work hard, work smart” slogan in some way; it is the basis of optimizing.
We live in a digital age, where information and figures on everything you can think of are at your fingertips. Today, more than ever, the pursuit of success is a desire that many people are eager to fill. There are those who have studied others and have drawn conclusions about how to achieve this.
The main issue is that many people are seeking to be successful without working hard. The idea of “working smart” can be mostly employed to indicate that you can accomplish more with less effort and that hard work can be avoided, but this is a paradoxical statement that does not make sense when you are just starting off a venture, an idea, a business or whatever, maybe later on when this start off is big then you can now achieve more by doing less, but again that does not mean that hard work is now being avoided.
Continue Reading: You Can Not Work Smart If You Don’t Work HardIt takes more effort to make things appear effortless.
Elegant, effortless performances are usually the result of a lot of hard-working, gritty training. Small things can become huge; simple isn’t always easy. – The Effort Paradox.
Consistency is the Bridge From Desire to Reality
And as usual in another article I wrote “Why You Should Consistently Do the Work” shows an irrefutable truth: Consistency turns intentions into outcomes.
You can want a better job, a stronger body, a clearer mind, a peaceful life, but desire alone produces nothing. Because without consistent work:
- dreams remain dreams
- goals remain fantasies
- plans remain words
- and talents remain untapped
What will be might be, but only after what must be is done consistently. Consistency is how you cast the votes for the person you want to become.
Ryan Holiday asked a question, why should one constantly do the work? He talked about an exchange in Chicago, the new book by David Mamet (a fan of Stoicism), that captures the reasons well; where the characters, having found themselves on the wrong side of a mob war, are arming themselves and discussing where to hide a pistol for protection; then one reminds the other that “the one phrase you never want to use” when trouble arises, is “Wait here ‘till I fetch it.” Ryan Holiday went further to say in that episode that Marcus Aurelius would say something similar; that philosophy was designed to make us a boxer and not a swordsman, because a boxer is built with his weapon in hand(s) whereas a fencer has to fetch theirs.
And this was also one very striking part for me, your weapon ought to be built in your hands, the reason we practice this, ought to do this, the reason you need to build your weapon in your hands, day in and day out is to keep their lessons handy, not just in philosophy but every other area and in any field of our domain.
Continue Reading: Why You Should Consistently Do The Work: Be The Boxer
Que Sera Sera is Not a Prediction; It is a Warning
If you do nothing, then that is what will be.
If you do not prepare, your future will be unprepared.
If you do not improve, your life will not either.
And if you do not sow, you will not reap.
Que Sera Sera is not telling you to relax; it is telling you: The future remains open, and your neglect will write it for you.
If You Want “What Will Be” to Be Good, You Must Make It Good
And this is the truth most people avoid:
You do not get the future you wish for!
You get the future you work for!
You get the future you build!
You get the future you earn!
You get the future you show up for every day!
Your destiny responds to your discipline! Your future reflects your habits! Your success mirrors your consistency!
Whatever “will be” is not fate; it is the outcome of the seeds you decide to plant today.
Read Also: Each of Us Has a Duty and You Must Do Your Part
Read Also: Take Life Seriously: The Call to Self-Restraint and Godly Discipline
Read Also: The Readiness Paradox: You Don’t Get Ready to Start; You Get Ready by Starting
Conclusion
The phrase becomes wise, not passive, when you understand it this way: Do all you must, all you can, and all you are capable of. And after you have done your part, trust the outcome.
Que Sera Sera is not a call to laziness.
It is a call to peace after effort.
A call to trust after labor.
A call to rest after diligence.
What will be will be but only because you made it so.
