A self-made being

I have the habit of exercising. I go to the gym four times a week. It takes very little effort for me to go—I just go. When I don’t, I feel strange, as if something is missing.

I’ve got accostumed to be someone who thinks about things. I often make an effort to distinguish right from wrong. I’ve often judged and decided what is truly good for me. When I act on impulse, I feel strange, almost outside myself. I’m used to thinking before acting; when I don’t, I feel off.

I love soccer. I grew up watching it, practicing it, and being interested in it. Since childhood, I’ve supported a soccer team called Corinthians. Since very young, I judge cheering for Corinthians to be the right thing for me. If Corinthians loses, I do not like it. If Corinthians wins, I feel good. I could never be indifferent to an important Corinthians game, even though I knew that if the same emotions were directed at a Canadian hockey team, it would make no meaningful difference.

That’s who I am now. I’m someone who became accustomed to taking care of my own mind and my own body. I’m also a Corinthians fan.

I am a human being. As such, I am a living being. I am alive. As such, two alternatives exist for me: further my life or hinder it. As a living being, when I die, I am not there anymore. My difference from other living beings is that I choose my actions. Humans may choose actions that further or hinder their lives. If I want to live, I need to be careful. I need to think. I must work on knowing what makes an action really good for my life.

I think to decide what to do, or I do what occurs to me of doing. Every human being does. What differentiates me from everyone else is my physical appearance and my character. These are unique to myself.

As I said, my current identity isn’t limited to being a human. There are many other things that make me who I am now. There are some things I got used to, which I am not really happy about, and I know why. I know I need to make an effort to get rid of them and change. (On a side note, I say to São Paulo fans that in case they got excited, being a Corinthians fan is not one of the things I want to change).

What I’ve done, experienced, and concluded from my experiences has become my memory. My memories—and the conclusions I’ve drawn from them—influence what I will feel and do again.

They determine what I am inclined to do automatically, without necessarily knowing why. My automatic actions are the things I’ve grown accustomed to doing. They are my habits.

I judge many things automatically, without knowing why I judged them. My feelings are the result of encountering something and evaluating it according to what I’ve already grown used to valuing.

A philosopher once said, “We are what we repeatedly do.” I agree. My character is shaped by what I’ve become accustomed to do.

The fact that I possess the ability to think means I am not necessarily a slave of my habits. I can judge independently what I feel or repeatedly do. I also have the ability to start doing new things I’ve never done before. I can form new ideas and new conclusions.

This capacity for choice is what allows things like objectivity and morality to exist. I can choose to draw conclusions based on facts and refuse contradictions to what I already know is true. I can choose to be logical and therefore objective.

I can judge what is truly good for me and act accordingly. Choosing to adhere to facts is good for me, because facts are oblivious to my thinking - things happen according to what things are. A horse will not fly. Gold will not react. I am alive and will die someday. Human beings walk on two feet, and can think.

Choosing to think before acting is good for me. My ability to think is what makes it possible for me to understand the things I encounter. It is how I connect myself to what is real. My survival depends on my knowledge and on acting according to it. I know what a cavity is; therefore I know I need to brush my teeth. I know I have to produce what I need; therefore I know I have to work.

It is often hard to reject what I’ve always done, even when I know that what I’ve grown used to is bad for me. If I want to change, effort is required. I can choose to exert the effort to be better, even if it is difficult at first. I know that if I have already concluded something is right, and if I do it repeatedly, I will become accustomed to it. I will become a better person in the future.

The better I am, the closer I am to my values, and the joy of achieving them. The closer I am to the pride of knowing I did things the right way.

I choose love, purpose, pride, and joy. I choose to live well and pursue happiness.

I am also the product of the quality of my choices and actions.

I am a self‑made being.