I have come to realise that every person is the way they are because of their circumstances and nothing else. That person who's working 2 jobs at Mc Donald's had was an orphan, the person driving a 10 year old beater car has 3 siblings to feed, that stripper probably was a victim of child abuse etc

I have schizoaffective disorder. You dun gun judge me, son?

Rich Piana is a caricature but the 5% thing he talks about is legit. He says that only 5% of people have what it takes to change their life. Personally, I think it's more like 1-2%.

The vast majority of people go through life going through the motions and do what they're supposed to do. The son of a doctor becomes a doctor, the son of a tradie becomes a tradie, but neither of them went above and beyond. So yes, shouldn't think better or worse of either of them because they both put in the same amount of effort.

That’s nice of you, OP.

Not always true though. I know two guys who grew up in the same fuked up environment. Junkie parents, dysfunctional home, poverty, occasional abuse. One of them became a mirror of the dysfunction they were raised around. He’s a mentally ill loser junkie. Another pulled himself up by his bootstraps, became a tradie, never fell into the usual traps and is doing pretty damn good for himself today.

IMO our outcomes are 60% based on circumstance and 40% our own personal choices. Make good ones and you can still succeed.

I mean if you take it back far enough, everyone is a victim to their position in the causal chain of events that goes back to the initial conditions of the universe, and has no agency, just the appearance of agency thanks to the conception of the 'self' that we possess. So judging at a rational level doesn't make too much sense.

However, judging is very natural to us since it has aided our survival in evolutionary terms, and is a core part of who we are and thus it won't change simply because we rationally tell ourselves it doesn't make full sense. Furthermore, judging has its uses in certain domains in a functional society. The attempt to remove 'judgement' is actually an important causal factor in the degredation of society, as we move away from judging those who violate the social contract/social paradigm, which breaks civil harmony/leads to civil discontent. Judgment can be a good behaviour modifier when utilized in certain ways (i.e social shame etc)

We all judge you

I judge you.

jk bro

Humans are wired to run from discomfort. Until you have been there most dont know what happens to the mind when it meets that feeling. Thats the 1-2% that seek it to grow.

While circumstances do factor in, personal choice and responsibility play a bigger factor.

I dunno op. Some people are just fa­ggots, and it can't be explained away

Wise decision, you never know what a person is dealing with behind the facade.

I do believe in agency to an extent, I've made meaningful life changes myself and think people can accomplish great things if they know the path.

But it is amazing how many benefits people have may have in upper social circles that you don't realize until you are in them. As I've climbed corporate chithole ladder and most peers are well educated well paid, you see almost all of them:

- Came from intact homes growing up, no divorce
- Parents were involved and made sure they were active. Kids were involved in sports, clubs, etc.
- Kids had no student loans, college and even private schooling paid for
- Parents themselves were more worldly. So kids would have experiences going abroad, or doing multi day ski trips or camping trips as opposed to being a beach bum in Hilton Head or Florida
- Kids grew up in financially secure households. Their parents help take care of them financially. The reverse, the kid being the rock of the family, would never even enter their minds
- The parents themselves were good role models for the kids. Smart, worked hard, etc. No yelling, deadbeat habits, abuse, etc.

All this stuff when you are young compounds into a very confident, well rounded, capable young adult. The more I grew in my own life to be surrounded by these people the more i would resent my own family and upbringing at times:

- brb dad had gambling problems and our house was foreclosed on
- brb divorce
- brb mom getting drunk multiple times a week
- brb parents didnt push me to do anything. would sit on computer all day
- brb no learned discipline to do anything, no learned work ethic

Above isn't cope. It just took me until mid 20s to realize why I am the way I am and had to be very intentional about course correcting from all that chit. Still not perfect but oh well. Worst part is I cant even complain because there are lower middle class and middle class kids with a worse upbringing than me, and those kids truly never had a chance statistically speaking. 1 in 100 might get out, the rest are screwed