Understanding the complexity of the human mind requires a lot of careful studying. There are many reasons humans are different from animals, but it largely boils down to the grey matter between your ears. You are capable of different emotions and behavior; but knowing only yourself does not provide you with the whole picture of the human mind. There are people who devote years of study to human psychological processes, and who further their studies, even taking summer courses for psychotherapists, to better understand how the mind works.
One basic facet of human psychology is what makes a person tick. How were you shaped to be the person that you are today? There are various schools of thought on this matter, nature versus nurture being among the most argued tenets; but, one cannot discount the role of people who influenced your formative years.
Parents
The first persons who you get to know and interact with are your parents. These days, the family is no longer the traditional setup and comes in many different forms. Yet, no matter the form, your parents are a huge influence on you because you spend most of your growing life under their wing. They are also the first figures of authority you follow, as well as the first voices of reason in your life. It is through them that you learn proper values and behavior. Parental influence is so great that it makes or breaks one’s personality traits, depending on the kind of home life one has with their parental figures.
Teachers
You owe it to your teachers for giving you the knowledge of how the world works—they are often called your second parents because they, too, affect your life for the long-term. Outside your home, you also learn important values from your teachers. You start to realise your purpose in life from the lessons that they impart to you. Being properly educated also teaches you to be a better person and instills in you the value of interacting well with others. The maths and sciences of the world have taught you to become an inquisitive, logical and critical-thinking person. Arming yourself with knowledge makes you a force to be reckoned with.
Friends
It is no secret that young ones value their peers. Think back to your younger self. There were surely times that you did not want to follow orders from “older folk” or be controlled by anyone. The authoritative figures, your parents and your teachers, may have at some point made you feel suffocated. It was at that point that you likely sought out those whom you felt were your equals—your friends and peer group. For the most part, friends can teach you how to approach and interact with people that you meet and those within your own sphere. They also provide you with a non-judgmental ear, and hopefully with some good advice when you need it.
These people—parents, teachers and fiends—are crucial in shaping a person’s life. You really cannot quantify how much one person can influence another. But, without a doubt, those close to you have contributed one way or another to shaping you into the person you are today.
