Free Will vs. Determinism

Let me be real here, I could care less about whether a person believes that free will or determinism is the correct assessment of life. The fact is that we are probably never going to find out who is right because it involves arguing about the theoretical. This means, philosophically speaking, that both ends of the spectrum, if it is a spectrum, are logically incorrect because they are concluding definitively that one assumption is true while the other is false. Religiously, this is the belief in a deity or atheism. The philosophical in between is atheism, claiming that we as humankind do not have the knowledge available to us to accurately conclude the existence, or lack thereof, of a deity.

The more important part about free will vs. determinism is how you choose to live your life. I believe that we have free will and that if I wanted to, I could lie in bed until I rot and not have to deal with the everyday crap of life. I also believe, that if I dedicate myself to being useful to others in life, I can make my life awesome to the extent that I won't want to rot in my bed. I personally believe, that effort creates ability and that one can generally achieve, if one is willing to dedicate effort. I find it difficult when people say "this is just the way it was meant to happen" because I judge this as a defeatist attitude. The reason there was a negative event in your life is probably because you acted in a way that it would happen. Granted, other people and events can screw you over but overall, I believe that what you put in , you receive in return. Monetarily speaking, if you invest money (conservatively), you will earn money in return; if you hide your money in the drawer below your bathroom sink, its value will decrease as the currency depreciates.

I guess to me, free-will is the ability to live life to your preference, an opportunity that I feel many people pass over and I can't deny that this ignorance elicits both nervousness about our future and occasionally, disdain.