amor fati : love of fate

Nietzsche believed that for any human to experience true joy and happiness you must fall in love with the morality of your own life within the present moment, regardless of its ebbs and flows.

“My formula for greatness in a human being, is amor fati” ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

Amor fati literal translation is “love of fate”, meaning to embrace one’s fate.

The concept of amor fati is that

“one wants nothing to be different, not forward, not backward, not in all eternity. Not merely bear what is necessary, still less conceal it … but love it.”

For Nietzsche, life’s trials and tribulations acted as a gift. It provided human existence with meaning. Struggles morph into friendly donations to test ourselves that we embrace with open arms. The same goes for our enemies, rivals and competitors. Respect and love for our enemies is crucial to appreciate the challenge they bring in return. Nietzsche wants us to “say yes to life.” Rather than hide from it — embrace it head on.

There is this concept of ‘life-denying philosophies’, which are philosophies that attempt to soften or even erase both the pains and…