You Shouldn’t Go Around Tempting Fate

It is better to be safe than sorry, so don’t go around jinxing things, because that could be inviting bad luck to happen or the possibility of all hell breaking lose.  The word tempt means to test something in a way that involves risk or danger.  There are certain laws of nature that everyone just needs to accept, because whenever you think that you are enjoying a moment of peace, fate has been known to strike when you least expect it.  It stands to reason that negative outcomes will always feel worse if you tempt fate, and it is more likely that the universe will punish certain behaviors in an ironic way.  Other sayings involve tempting God, tempting fortune, or tempting providence.

As you grow older, it becomes harder to feel happy, because you have learned about all the things that can go wrong, this makes you become superstitious about tempting fate, and about bringing disaster upon your life by accidentally feeling too good one day.  If you go around showing too much happiness, you are only tempting fate to step in and slap you down.  Never assume that you’re safe, because as soon as you announce that, you have tempted fate to step in and add danger to your life.  Tempting fate can refer to a person who takes unnecessary risks or one that displays arrogance because their ego is too big.

Baseball is filled with superstition, and with bizarre traditions like a player who insists on chewing the same gum each day during a hitting streak.  Some players make sure that they never step on the foul lines.  Some eat the same thing before every game, or unfasten and fasten their batting gloves a certain number of times before stepping into the batter’s box.  There is an unwritten rule in the game which says that you should never talk about a perfect game as it’s happening, because that would be tempting fate and God will find a way of punishing you for this.

Written for Linda G. Hill Life in progress One-Liner Wednesday – March 21 prompt.