You are the result of two main factors: genetics and experience. You're born with a set of traits inherited from your parents—things like temperament, emotional tendencies, and personality characteristics. That already shapes a lot of how you'll respond to the world.

Then come your experiences. You don't get to choose where you're born, who your parents are, how they treat you, or what happens in your early years. These experiences—completely out of your control—mold the way you think, feel, and act.

The decisions you make throughout life are a direct outcome of that combination. You think you have a choice, but in reality, you're just reacting to what shaped you. There’s no such thing as a ‘pure self’ making completely free decisions. There's just a brain shaped by things you never had a say in.