--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are all born into families and…" description: "\"We are all born into families and cultures we didn't choose, given names we didn't pick, instructed in behaviour and values we might not have freely ch..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70e/sheldon-b-kopp-10645_behaviour_we-are-all-born-into-families-and-cultur_1791670.jpg" --- # We are all born into families and cultures we didn't… ![“We are all born into families and cultures we didn't choose, given names we didn't pick, instructed in behaviour and values we might not have freely chosen, and too often we end up expected to live lives designed by others.” quote by Sheldon B. Kopp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70e/sheldon-b-kopp-10645_behaviour_we-are-all-born-into-families-and-cultur_1791670.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70e/sheldon-b-kopp-10645_behaviour_we-are-all-born-into-families-and-cultur_1791670.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70e/sheldon-b-kopp-10645_behaviour_we-are-all-born-into-families-and-cultur_1791670.jpg) > “We are all born into families and cultures we didn't choose, given names we didn't pick, instructed in behaviour and values we might not have freely chosen, and too often we end up expected to live lives designed by others.” [Sheldon B. Kopp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-b-kopp/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We inherit families, cultures, names, and expectations without choice, shaping our lives before we can decide. **In simple terms:** We’re born into preset roles and values. Key Takeaway Recognize and question inherited expectations. Themes identity choice social conditioning family culture Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career planning - relationship decisions - personal growth - cultural integration Key Concepts determinism autonomy existentialism Questions to Reflect On - How much of your life is guided by inherited expectations? - What steps can you take to assert your own values? A Different Perspective Inherited expectations can limit personal freedom if unexamined. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Behaviour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behaviour/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) [Live life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-life/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) ## Related quotes > [The Treatise tries to analyze not only modern Western families, but also those in other cultures and the changes in family structure during the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-becker/the-treatise-tries-to-analyze-not-only-modern-western-families-but/) [Gary Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-becker/) > [Animals have been reduced to objects for production, and their lives are designed around our needs and desires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-marshall/animals-have-been-reduced-to-objects-for-production-and-their-lives/) Liz Marshall > [“Some of us are born into families with very difficult problems. And even good families have many challenges. We must try to do in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-w-tanner/some-of-us-are-born-into-families-with-very-difficult-problems-and/) [Susan W. Tanner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-w-tanner/) > [I do think it's interesting when people are born into families that at one point had huge amounts of money and that money has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-douglas/i-do-think-it-s-interesting-when-people-are-born-into-families-that/) [Lawrence Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-douglas/) > [Choose who you are in any given moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-sylver/choose-who-you-are-in-any-given-moment/) [Marshall Sylver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-sylver/) > [You can be any gender you choose on any given day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trisha-paytas/you-can-be-any-gender-you-choose-on-any-given-day/) [Trisha Paytas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trisha-paytas/) > [“We are all meant to follow the path we choose, it's why we're given the choice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-kirsten-maravel/we-are-all-meant-to-follow-the-path-we-choose-it-s-why-we-re-given/) [Shawn Kirsten Maravel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-kirsten-maravel/) > [A name is so important. A surname connects you to your past, to your family. Even a given name has meaning - why did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelley-armstrong/a-name-is-so-important-a-surname-connects-you-to-your-past-to-your/) [Kelley Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelley-armstrong/) > [If it is a joint return, we are instructed to print the given names of both husband and wife. But since some of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/if-it-is-a-joint-return-we-are-instructed-to-print-the-given-names-of/) [W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/) > [And then came a time when I could no longer say 'We,' and I found myself in a lonesome land where no one remembered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candace-wheeler/and-then-came-a-time-when-i-could-no-longer-say-we-and-i-found-myself/) [Candace Wheeler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/candace-wheeler/) > [All my kids' given names, the first names, are all from people in my life, and they have my husband's last name. And we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilaria-baldwin/all-my-kids-given-names-the-first-names-are-all-from-people-in-my/) [Hilaria Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilaria-baldwin/) > [“Most of us have nicknames—annoying, endearing, embarrassing. But what about your true name? It is not necessarily your given name. But it is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/most-of-us-have-nicknames-annoying-endearing-embarrassing-but-what/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [The motives that lead us to do anything might be arranged like the thirty-two winds and might be given names on the same pattern:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/the-motives-that-lead-us-to-do-anything-might-be-arranged-like-the/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) > [I didn't choose Goldberg because I wanted to be the flagship for the Jewish movement, not by any stretch of the imagination. I chose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-goldberg/i-didn-t-choose-goldberg-because-i-wanted-to-be-the-flagship-for-the/) [Bill Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-goldberg/) > [Taylor Gang or Die. Obviously Bin Laden didn't choose Taylor Gang.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-gang/taylor-gang-or-die-obviously-bin-laden-didn-t-choose-taylor-gang/) [Taylor Gang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-gang/) ## More by Sheldon B. Kopp > [“Research in self-disclosure supports my own experience that the personal openness of the guru facilitates and invites the increased openness of the pilgrim. (24)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-b-kopp/research-in-self-disclosure-supports-my-own-experience-that-the/) [Sheldon B. Kopp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-b-kopp/) > [I remember a group therapy session when one of the patients was reluctantly turning his corner. He would accept it, he said, but he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-b-kopp/i-remember-a-group-therapy-session-when-one-of-the-patients-was/) [Sheldon B. Kopp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-b-kopp/) > [Sometimes life seems like a poorly designed cage within which man has been sentenced to be free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-b-kopp/sometimes-life-seems-like-a-poorly-designed-cage-within-which-man-has/) [Sheldon B. Kopp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-b-kopp/) > [“Crises marked by anxiety, doubt, and despair have always been those periods of personal unrest that occur at the times when a man is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-b-kopp/crises-marked-by-anxiety-doubt-and-despair-have-always-been-those/) [Sheldon B. Kopp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-b-kopp/) > [Everything good is costly, and the development of the personality is one of the most costly of all things. It will cost you your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-b-kopp/everything-good-is-costly-and-the-development-of-the-personality-is/) [Sheldon B. Kopp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-b-kopp/) > [I have long trusted dreams as prophetic visions. I do not mean that they foretell the future, only that they illuminate the present, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-b-kopp/i-have-long-trusted-dreams-as-prophetic-visions-i-do-not-mean-that/) [Sheldon B. Kopp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-b-kopp/) > [Each person's only hope for improving his lot rests on recognizing the true nature of his or her basic personality, surrendering to it, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-b-kopp/each-person-s-only-hope-for-improving-his-lot-rests-on-recognizing/) [Sheldon B. Kopp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-b-kopp/) > [“Of course, one other hypothetical alternative would have been for the child to decide that since she was fine the way she was, there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-b-kopp/of-course-one-other-hypothetical-alternative-would-have-been-for-the/) [Sheldon B. Kopp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-b-kopp/) > [“Unwilling to tolerate life’s ambiguity, its unresolvability, its inevitability, we search for certainty, demanding that someone else must provide it. Stubbornly, relentlessly, we seek…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-b-kopp/unwilling-to-tolerate-life-s-ambiguity-its-unresolvability-its/) [Sheldon B. Kopp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-b-kopp/) > [But after a while, she began to experience the new reality of each person as being as strong and as weak as anyone else.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-b-kopp/but-after-a-while-she-began-to-experience-the-new-reality-of-each/) [Sheldon B. Kopp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-b-kopp/) > [So it is that God tugs at a pilgrim's sleeve telling him to remember that he is only human. He must be his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-b-kopp/so-it-is-that-god-tugs-at-a-pilgrim-s-sleeve-telling-him-to-remember/) [Sheldon B. Kopp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-b-kopp/) > [“You can't get there from here, and besides there's no place else to go.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-b-kopp/you-can-t-get-there-from-here-and-besides-there-s-no-place-else-to-go/) [Sheldon B. Kopp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-b-kopp/) > [He prefers the security of known misery to the misery of unfamiliar insecurity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-b-kopp/he-prefers-the-security-of-known-misery-to-the-misery-of-unfamiliar/) [Sheldon B. Kopp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-b-kopp/) > [For a long time now I have trusted my dreaming self as wiser than that waking self whose head is cluttered with reason and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-b-kopp/for-a-long-time-now-i-have-trusted-my-dreaming-self-as-wiser-than/) [Sheldon B. Kopp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-b-kopp/) > [All significant battles are fought within self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-b-kopp/all-significant-battles-are-fought-within-self/) [Sheldon B. Kopp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-b-kopp/) [Explore all 64 Sheldon B. Kopp quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-b-kopp/) ## More Behaviour quotes > [Nobody has the right to put another under such a difficulty that he must either hurt the person by telling the truth or hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/nobody-has-the-right-to-put-another-under-such-a-difficulty-that-he/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“Do you keep pace with those around you, or do you decide yourself just how you will live your life? The truth is...only you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-goodier/do-you-keep-pace-with-those-around-you-or-do-you-decide-yourself-just/) [Steve Goodier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-goodier/) > [I don't see much future for the Americans ... it's a decayed country. And they have their racial problem, and the problem of social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/i-don-t-see-much-future-for-the-americans-it-s-a-decayed-country-and/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [“To live without any regret is to act right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/to-live-without-any-regret-is-to-act-right/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [High testosterone levels have been proven to make men more likely to commit crimes. The tendency in men toward risky behaviour keeps turning up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-stark/high-testosterone-levels-have-been-proven-to-make-men-more-likely-to/) [Rodney Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-stark/) > [No one likes to admit they are racist or bear prejudices. Nor do they even like to be open and honest when they witness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-jacques/no-one-likes-to-admit-they-are-racist-or-bear-prejudices-nor-do-they/) [Martin Jacques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-jacques/) > [I think it's a very central tenet to it yes, it is. I can't bear it, I can't bear inequality, I can't bear bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-suzman/i-think-it-s-a-very-central-tenet-to-it-yes-it-is-i-can-t-bear-it-i/) [Janet Suzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-suzman/) > [Look, I was only given a year or two to come up with tunes for this record, and when all but eight of them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-gorrie/look-i-was-only-given-a-year-or-two-to-come-up-with-tunes-for-this/) Alan Gorrie > [Behaviour is a mirror in which everyone shows his image.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vinesh/behaviour-is-a-mirror-in-which-everyone-shows-his-image/) [Vinesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vinesh/) > [There's a wow factor associated with my name. It could be due to my work as well as my behaviour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prosenjit-chatterjee/there-s-a-wow-factor-associated-with-my-name-it-could-be-due-to-my/) [Prosenjit Chatterjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prosenjit-chatterjee/) > [The individualism of current economic theory is manifest in the purely self-interested behaviour it generally assumes. It has no real place for fairness, malevolence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-e-daly/the-individualism-of-current-economic-theory-is-manifest-in-the/) [Herman E. Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-e-daly/) > [“There's no difference between a madman and a professor...it should be clear to you in the way they dress, act and think.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/there-s-no-difference-between-a-madman-and-a-professor-it-should-be/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [Modern man, seeking a middle position in the evaluation of sense impression and thought, can, following Plato , interpret the process of understanding nature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-pauli/modern-man-seeking-a-middle-position-in-the-evaluation-of-sense/) [Wolfgang Pauli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-pauli/) > [“I think this is one bad side of a mirror; it helps us to see the reflection of the effects of our own actions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/i-think-this-is-one-bad-side-of-a-mirror-it-helps-us-to-see-the/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [A lot of celebrities just want money, fame, power, fancy cars, houses all over the world and have people BOW DOWN to them. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-manson/a-lot-of-celebrities-just-want-money-fame-power-fancy-cars-houses-all/) [Shirley Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-manson/) [Browse all 696 Behaviour quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behaviour/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We are all born into families and cultures we didn't choose, given names we didn't pick, instructed in behaviour and values we might not have freely chosen, and too often we end up expected to live lives designed by others.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sheldon B. Kopp" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-b-kopp/we-are-all-born-into-families-and-cultures-we-didn-t-choose-given/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Behaviour" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-b-kopp/we-are-all-born-into-families-and-cultures-we-didn-t-choose-given/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70e/sheldon-b-kopp-10645_behaviour_we-are-all-born-into-families-and-cultur_1791670.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70e/sheldon-b-kopp-10645_behaviour_we-are-all-born-into-families-and-cultur_1791670.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70e/sheldon-b-kopp-10645_behaviour_we-are-all-born-into-families-and-cultur_1791670.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We are all born into families and cultures we didn't choose, given names we didn't pick, instructed in…” — Sheldon B. Kopp", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Sheldon B. Kopp", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-b-kopp/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We are all born into families...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-b-kopp/we-are-all-born-into-families-and-cultures-we-didn-t-choose-given/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-b-kopp/we-are-all-born-into-families-and-cultures-we-didn-t-choose-given/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```