People's behavior is largely determined by forces not of their own making.


Miracles or disasters are bound to happen nevertheless straining circumstances if one is resolutely determined to bring about them. The prompt claims that people's behavior is largely determined by forces not of their own making. In my opinion I disagree with this claim for two salient reasons.

Life always gives one the choice to choose between good and evil. It is only up to one to determine which path one is willing to walk upon. If one is hell-bound upon being evil, then circumstances, external forces around and upon one which are contrary to one's penchants will have little to no impact on one's actions. For example, let's look at Bin Laden. This notorious terrorist arrogated lives of several innocent people attributing to his jingoism. While his religion per se does not say anything about killing innocent people to flourish, it is his own choice to misinterpret his religious principles that lead to a mayhem in the Unites States. It is only one's own making that is determining one's behavior and not the external forces.

No matter how much life tries to drag you down, as long as you are resolute to not get mired down, nothing can break you. For example, let's look at Stephen Hawkings. He made innumerable prodigious contributions to the field of science and technology notwithstanding his physical and mental challenges. It would have been easy for him to take rest and lie in a corner uncomplaining when he started to grow ill. But he didn't take that choice and instead started working even more and became a world-renowned scientist and savvy. As we see in this case, it was Hawking's untiring own making that took him to the apexes of his success and not the external forces.

Sometimes, inherent physical or mental impairments can affect the way we behave and it is not always possible to curb undesirable behavior. For example, if a person is suffering from autism, eccentric behavior is nothing but an inexorable consequence of his/her medical condition. In this case, it is the external force which is responsible for one's behavior rather than one's own making. However, this follows only in unusual and uncommon circumstances.

Nevertheless, in general, one's mind and dispositions are the ones which determine one's behavior than the external forces. One can be an antagonist or a protagonist which is an ultimate result of one's own making.