I'm always afraid that I'm either doing too much or too little in basically every aspect of my life.

Things tend to fall in place for themselves most of the time. Think about it this way, whatever the fuck it is you want in this life, it is something that most likely hundreds of millions of people are also after. Most of the time we are playing this invisible tug-o-war game against the world and there's no fucking chance you'll ever win it on your own. Most great things in life you get by pure luck.

You can win the small battles for the scraps that go unnoticed by the majority, but are they really worth going after?

This is dumb. Both are massive generalizations, and either one could correctly apply to any number of situations. Rather than this fortune-cookie bullshit, it's much more helpful if you actually describe your specific situation and what you need advice with

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Both.

Both Aesop and the Old Testament make that point pretty clear. "God helps those who help themselves," and variations on that.

To go back to another biblical allegory, the story of the two farmers during the drought comes to mind, too. Both are worried sick about the drought. One farmer calls out of God and prays constantly, while the other plants seeds, repairs tools and mends his fences. When the rains come, only the farmer who got up off his knees prospers.
Faith and planning go equally into the cultivation of successful practices. Take from that what you will.

>>16608247
>if something is meant/destined to happen, it'll happen. Like, things will work themselves out, people who are meant to be in your life will come back, etc.

This ONLY "works out" if you've already made it absolutely clear what you want, tried hard, fought for it, etc etc. And even then, only sometimes. It's really just something you tell yourself when you've already done everything in your power, and it didn't work out yet.

For example - you might get the girl even if she rejects you at first, but you're never gonna get her if you don't even ask her out. If you're working your ass off to become, like, an actor or something, and nothing is working out, one day you might just get a phone call or a lucky audition, and everything falls into place. But it's not going to happen if you weren't already out there busting your ass, telling anyone who will listen that you want to be an actor.

>>16608270
I'm not asking for advice as much as I want a discussion about these two general outlooks on life.

>>16608301
True. I feel the same way which is why I'm kind of on the fence. Like, I've worked hard for what I want, and I've said everything I need to say and done what I need to do, so I should subscribe to the first train of thought and sit back and let things happen, right? But I have a hard time not worrying, not thinking I should do more, etc. That's the curse of overthinking, I guess.

>>16608334

Nah, that's a good thing. The majority of that "overthinking" will be dead ends and unnecessary anxiety, but it's worth it for those moments when you actually think of something that can make a difference and push you even further. Those moments wouldn't happen if you just sat back and waited for things to start happening.

The main way people screw this up, is if they keep failing, keep doing the EXACT SAME THING, and think that's what persistence means. Things don't always work out exactly the way you hoped in your head, but if you're actually trying, and working hard, and learning your own strengths, they'll probably work out for the best.

>>16608372
"The definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

I'll keep that in mind. And, thanks. I hope you're right.

>>16608382

Well, as the other poster said, these are guidelines, but they're huge generalizations. There's no "right" answer. You just do the best you can. But you can't sit on your ass and expect "fate" to sort things out for you, if that was the gist of your question