Really thoughtful. This really sank deep into me as I read it, luckily for me though I've read the book 'Blink' by Malcolm Gladwell. In that book he talked extensively about how seemingly little things like this can affect many areas of our lives. The way we are brought up, the kind of parents we have, etc really goes a very long way in determining our outlook in life.
If I hadn't read that book I don't know how speechlessly stunned I would have been by this argument/revelation you made here - because I realized how true it is,
I began to see how it applies to my own life and that of my friends. Great job @trostparadox👍.
The interesting thing to me, with respect to this 'path dependency' concept, is that we have a choice as to HOW those things affect us.
My dad chose to break the cycle of absentee-fatherhood. He could have just as easily (or actually, more easily) chosen to wallow in self-pity and promulgate the cycle rather than breaking it.
Yes, fortunately we can break the cycle and it's really impressive he was able to do that.
Usually it takes a good proactive thinker to break away from cycles that their environment and situations strap them to. If one doesn't reflect on life, think about the things they have a high tendency and seem predisposed to do and then decide to make conscious effort to change a couple of things they would keep going around living according to the dictates of their upbringing.