Pawns of Fate

Maybe I've been reading too much of the Elric series recently, but sometimes I wonder just how much Fate controls our lives and just how much we control our Fates. Do certain events occur as the sum result of our actions? Or were they inevitable from the very beginning?

Twice in my life, the same thing has happened to me. Not just once, but twice. Almost the same exact words were said both times. Just today, someone told me that it was Fate that things kept happening that eventually resulted in the second event.

Are we merely playthings of Fate? Or is Fate merely a form of self-created torment?