Destiny or your effort

Can we improve our life by own effort or does destiny decide everything? Experience would tell us that there are some things in our lives, good or bad, that have occurred even though we did not deserve them. And then there are things that we yearn, pray and work for, and, yet, we never get them. Ultimately, say some scriptures, everything is based on karma but not necessarily of this lifetime.According to the Bhagwad Gita, we have accumulated karma from all the previous lives. The Gita calls this sanchit karma. Karma is any thought held or action performed with attachment, for that will have a consequence, either now or in future. In between two lives, our soul, which is eternal, decides which of the accumulated karma it wants to face in the next lifetime. This is called prarabdha, destiny, and when it presents itself, we cannot avoid it.Sunil Gavaskar in his book 'Idols' mentions the case of Rajinder Goel who was as talented a leg-spinner as Bishen Singh Bedi, but his Test career never took off because Bedi made it to the India team before Goel could reach there. Prarabdha!Even a talented sportsperson has to practise. and show his talent to the selectors.And, then, put in the effort to retain his spot.