I heard a centenarian once say, “I don’t have many failures. If I’m making a cake and it fails, it becomes a pudding.” This seemingly simple statement has a much deeper meaning if one mulls over it. It shows how we can face challenges in life with a positive attitude, and learn to take the bad with the good that life throws at us. Take the legendary inventor Thomas Edison and the time when a fire broke out in his manufacturing and experimental plant in West Orange, New Jersey. All of his life’s work was engulfed in flames. His son, Charles, described his father’s reaction when he saw the fire wreak havoc on the research facility. To his amazement, Charles heard him saying, “Go get your mother and all her friends. They’ll never see a fire like this again.” Charles was understandably shocked to hear this, upon which Edison added, “It’s all right. We’ve just got rid of a lot of rubbish.” Later on, he was quoted as saying, “Although I am over 67 years old, I’ll start all over again tomorrow.” There is something to be said for always trying to portray an optimistic mindset and a positive attitude towards life, and a belief in fate — accepting that everything happens for a reason. This attitude towards life is what is known as ‘amor fati’. Try it.