Shunning the Fortuitous Aspect of Life
There is much that people do planfully to exercise some measure of control over their self-development and life circumstances. But there is a lot of fortuity in the courses lives take. Indeed, some of the most important determinants of life paths occur through the most trivial circumstances (Bandura, 1982; Merton & Barber, 2004). People are often initiated into new life trajectories, marital partnerships, and occupational careers through fortuitous circumstances. To cite an example, an academic publisher entered the lecture hall as it was rapidly filling up and seized an empty chair near the entrance. Some months later, he marries the woman who happened to be seated next to him. With only momentary change in time of entry, seating constellations would have altered and this intersection would not have occurred. A marital partnership was thus fortuitously formed at a talk devoted to fortuitous determinants of life paths! As this event illustrates, a seemingly insignificant fortuitous event can set in motion concatenating influences that change life courses, that cascade toward an outcome that could not have been anticipated.