Editorial Review: Your Destiny is Inside You by Ana Pat

In Your Destiny is Inside You, author Ana Pat shares his own spiritual journey and his views on the world and invites the reader to come along. His optimism carries readers through his explanations.

The main focus is his understanding that everything we see, hear, and experience is energy. With this view comes the understanding that energy naturally flows, and that positive and negative experiences are all part of the same thing. The author invites readers to accept that all we go through is part of the same thing, and the highs and lows are a natural part of being alive. Many cultures have a motto such as this too shall pass or new beginnings are often disguised as painful endings reflecting this understanding in different ways.

Pat believes that accepting this view will help us separate from the ego and from self-driven views of happiness and success. By accepting positive and negative experiences as part of the whole, we can detach from some of the pain of these negative experiences and setbacks. Good and bad, the author explains, is all part of life. This is especially important for those who are still suffering from negative events in the past, and Pat shares a lot of suggestions for readers coping with trouble from the past, whether it’s a full trauma or just a bad memory.

We can also see positive experiences as a temporary state, too, and disconnect from the frustrating drive to maintain happiness at all times. Instead of looking to external success or possessions, Ana Pat encourages readers to look for and appreciate joy in small things. At times, he uses his own experiences to illustrate the pleasure found in little, simple joys, and that’s one of the most intriguing parts of the book. Pat’s life and travels could fill another book of stories. These personal stories work well with the warm, friendly writing style in this book.

Some of the philosophy found here is a bit like The Secret, The Law of Attraction, or other similar books that focus on positive thinking to handle adversity. Most readers will find there are some familiar platitudes in this book, although fans will see that as the universality of these views.

Fortunately, Pat doesn’t use positive thinking to abdicate from responsibilities, especially from our responsibilities to our families or other relationships. He also shares wisdom on how these views relate to our connection with others.

As with many self-help or philosophy books, readers who connect with this central premise will find a lot to learn, discover and enjoy in this book. Readers who view the world differently, and don’t really accept this starting premise will struggle to find value in the rest of this book.

I’m not sure that I fully buy everything presented here, but much of this book is interesting and engaging. While I doubt the claim that worrying about aging causes aging, there’s a clear value in the attractions of Pat’s philosophy. Haven’t we all met deeply negative people, whose constant complaints and general sour outlook affects their surroundings? Think about how just one complaining or hostile coworker can change the whole mood at work. And, if we’re lucky, we’ve also met wonderfully positive and optimistic people, too.

Although the book covers many aspects of life and philosophy, the most valuable takeaway is simply Ana Pat’s hopeful, optimistic view of the world and our place in it. This book shares his optimistic perspective on life and relationships, as well as moments from his interesting life.