What Thing(s) About Yourself Can You Claim Came From Striclty From You?

Going back through your life and the impact different things have had on you what do you believe came strictly from within yourself as opposed to factors of outside influence? Some folks have revelations for example and some people hold the same beliefs from early childhood while other change at midlife etc. So, is there one thing (or more) about you that you can attribute to no one but yourself?

Every single choice I have ever made. While there have things which have influenced those choices, ultimately they are my choices. I can choose to ignore or embrace the outside influences, so the final word is mine and mine alone.

My savoir faire.

People, as do other living thiings, react to stimuli. Even a "revelation" comes from an outside source.

faithful_servant said:

Every single choice I have ever made. While there have things which have influenced those choices, ultimately they are my choices. I can choose to ignore or embrace the outside influences, so the final word is mine and mine alone.

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It's not that simple. All you're referring to here is the things you know that might influence your decision. You have no clue what forgotten things of your past might be influencing you.

And that's not even considering all the little things that influenced your development to the present. Undernourished children don't develop the same mental abilities as well nourished children and that effects them the rest of their lives. Don't you believe your mental capabilities, like willpower and intelligence, effect your decisions??? If so, then your decisions aren't entirely yours.

MoSurveyor said:

It's not that simple. All you're referring to here is the things you know that might influence your decision. You have no clue what forgotten things of your past might be influencing you.

And that's not even considering all the little things that influenced your development to the present. Undernourished children don't develop the same mental abilities as well nourished children and that effects them the rest of their lives. Don't you believe your mental capabilities, like willpower and intelligence, effect your decisions??? If so, then your decisions aren't entirely yours.

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I can choose to respond to those influences or not to respond to them, that's MY CHOICE. I am NOT a slave to my past, although I am influenced by it.

rhinefire said:

Going back through your life and the impact different things have had on you what do you believe came strictly from within yourself as opposed to factors of outside influence? Some folks have revelations for example and some people hold the same beliefs from early childhood while other change at midlife etc. So, is there one thing (or more) about you that you can attribute to no one but yourself?

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Great question !!

Honesty and truth came from within myself.

I grew up in a family that told lies constantly to manipulate each other and the neighbors.

From that point on somewhere around the age of 10 to 12 I determined that I could not trust either of my parents or siblings. They were all selfish assholes.

My teachers at school became my primary sources of knowledge and truth then.

Eventually in grad school I figured out that I could not trust teachers and professors either. I had to discover everything on my own after reading everything about it that I could.

Ultimately in my pre-retirement old age I determined I could not even trust the Holy Church either.

And also that Jesus' teachings often were no longer applicable in the 20th Century. That was astounding to me.

I found out that I had to stand alone and face off with my God face to face, and if He did not like it then too bad for Him.

Philosophy exceeds all other things.

In philosophy, I concluded that Plato was overly idealistic. And Aristotle though one of the most brilliant thinkers in history was overly political.

faithful_servant said:

Every single choice I have ever made. While there have things which have influenced those choices, ultimately they are my choices. I can choose to ignore or embrace the outside influences, so the final word is mine and mine alone.

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That's pretty much true of everyone and everything. People then go on to make correct and incorrect choices. No big deal there.

faithful_servant said:

I can choose to respond to those influences or not to respond to them, that's MY CHOICE. I am NOT a slave to my past, although I am influenced by it.

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You keep telling yourself that ... lol

Original thought....I don't think there is such a thing. Everyone is influenced by someone or something whether it's art, technology, science, religion, politics, culture or whatever...someone already had that idea and someone else built, added, reinterpreted that idea to make it their own and then someone else took that idea and reinterpreted it to make it their own...and then someone else took that idea and made it their own to infinity and beyond.....

rhinefire said:

Going back through your life and the impact different things have had on you what do you believe came strictly from within yourself as opposed to factors of outside influence? Some folks have revelations for example and some people hold the same beliefs from early childhood while other change at midlife etc. So, is there one thing (or more) about you that you can attribute to no one but yourself?

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That's a really good question.

.....off-hand I should say, none. Even our make-up (genes), are not fully ours.


And being religious (from a Christian perspective), of course I'd say God has a heavy influence in my thinking/decisions. After all.....morality came from Him.
And it's the desire of most Christians to do what is righteous in God's eyes.

Initially none.

They all came from nature or nurture. But both have governed my choices and actions since.

rhinefire said:

Going back through your life and the impact different things have had on you what do you believe came strictly from within yourself as opposed to factors of outside influence? Some folks have revelations for example and some people hold the same beliefs from early childhood while other change at midlife etc. So, is there one thing (or more) about you that you can attribute to no one but yourself?

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No, probably not. We are not islands. Synergy is a human trait, and passing on insights is reAlly what separates us from lower mammals. There's not much new under the sun, after all. Even if one believed they've come up with an independent whatever? They probably didn't.