While circumstances also undoubtedly influence us, they do not necessarily determine every response.

We have control of our thoughts, which indicates that we have control of our choices.

The action of not making a choice is still a choice, which will lead to consequences.

Every day presents countless moments of decision and choice. Some seem significant and some not. While circumstances also undoubtedly influence us, they do not necessarily determine every response. Between an event and a reaction lies a moment of choice. As Viktor Frankl, author of Man's Search for Meaning, observed: "Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom."

Profoundly, Frankl did not arrive at this conclusion while living a comfortable life. He made this observation while existing in circumstances where almost every external freedom had been removed. Yet he was somehow of the mind that one freedom remained—and that was the mind-based freedom to choose one's response.

It stands to reason that others can influence us, pressure us, provoke us, encourage us, or attempt to persuade us. Added to this, physical and social circumstances can also advance or constrain the options available to us. However, as noted by Frankl, we still have control of our........

© Psychology Today