Behaviors Chosen For You

I remember a high school teacher discussing parental habits on their children's choices later in life, a preordained measure of what a grown individual will choose based on their parents habits. This being an interesting psychological observation which reminded me of Albert Bandura's social learning theory. Bandura, who states, "learning would be exceedingly laborious, not to mention hazardous, if people had to rely solely on the effects of their own actions to inform them what to do."

True somewhat, isn't it?

I know an individual, who will remain anonymous, who states an all but true characteristic that bridges on being politically correct; so I will alter it slightly. "If you show me an overweight kid, i'll show you an overweight parent." As rude or incongruous as this may seem, it's an unfortunate truth. Behaviors of parents largely dictate attitudes, values, and norms of their children. Personalities I believe are greatly uno-centric, however, largely formed by the nurturing process. More so, the extrinsic choices young adults make (i.e. spending habits, nutrition and exercise habits) are also largely based upon the lifestyle of those whom they modeled after, their guardians. Examples as simple and remote as picking a toothpaste or a news channel to more serious life style choices such as setting up retirement plans early and being a philanthropic community contributor, are acts stemming from our parent's behaviors.

True in form; I buy Colgate toothpaste. I read the Boston Globe. I watch FoxNews (despite...). I'm a Red Sox fan. The gas in my car is never below a quarter tank. Peanut Butter of choice? Jiffy. All of these minor preferences and choices i've made above stem from a model of social behavior of my parents. Of course what i've exampled for myself are minor and ultimately have little effect on who I am as a person or to that of others, however, they do characterize me. More importantly there are values and life style habits I follow that severely dictate my long term well-being - again, predisposed choices based those of my models.

You'd like to think you're completely self-made, and in many measures you are. The steps however taken to get to where you are were indirectly chosen by your guardians. I'm not a psychologist, nor have any credentials toward social theory. Just plain human observation and of course a little insightful reading on the side.