In the real world there is no nature vs. nurture argument, only an infinitely complex and moment-by-moment interaction between genetic and environmental effects
Gabor MateRead
We may not be responsible for the world that created our minds, but we can take responsibility for the mind with which we create our world.
Interpretation
What this quote means
We cannot control our origins, but we have the power to shape our thoughts and actions.
This quote emphasizes the notion that while our thoughts and perceptions are influenced by the world around us, we ultimately have the agency to choose how we respond and create our realities. It highlights the importance of mindfulness and responsibility in shaping our lives through our own mindset and creative power.
Themes
ResponsibilityMindsetCreationThoughtsAgency
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a motivational speech to inspire individuals to take control of their lives.
More from Gabor Mate
All quotes →A hurt is at the center of all addictive behaviors. . . . The wound may not be as deep and the ache not as excruciating, and it may even be entirely hidden—but it’s there. As we’ll see, the effects of early stress or adverse experiences directly shape both the psychology and the neurobiology of addiction in the brain
Gabor MateRead
Similar quotes
When men abandon reason, physical force becomes their only means of dealing with one another and of settling disagreements.
Ayn RandRead
King of the animals — as thou hast described him — I should rather say king of the beasts, thou being the greatest — because thou hast spared slaying them, in order that they may give thee their children for the benefit of the gullet, of which thou hast attempted to make a sepulchre for all animals; and I would say still more, if it were allowed me to speak the entire truth.
Leonardo Da VinciRead
My brother died when he was 19, so a part of me indulges and thinks that some part of him that made him uniquely him is out there, on another plane. So inventing the fictional afterlife in 'Sing, Unburied, Sing' was a way of making that wish real.
Jesmyn WardRead
Whom can I ask what I came to make happen in this world? Why do I move without wanting to, why am I not able to sit still? Why do I go rolling without wheels, flying without wings or feathers, and why did I decide to migrate if my bones live in Chile?
Pablo NerudaRead
Religion is a search for transcendence. But transcendence isn't necessarily sited in an external god, which can be a very unspiritual, unreligious concept.
Karen ArmstrongRead
When God wants to drive a person insane, he grants that person's every wish.
Paulo CoelhoRead