A bird flies in loops—
Not knowing the wind it rides
Is not its own will.
For the longest time, I believed I was making my own choices. That when I reached for something—food, entertainment, a habit repeated daily—it was because I wanted it. Because it was me choosing, me deciding.
But then I started noticing patterns. The same cravings at the same time of day. The same distractions pulling me in when I swore I would focus. The same loops, over and over, like a song playing in the background of my mind that I never consciously pressed play on.
That’s when I understood:
Not all decisions are our own.
Some choices are planted, nudged into existence by invisible forces. Forces we rarely question because they do not announce themselves. They do not push, they whisper.
And by the time we hear them, they’ve already won.
The Illusion of Free Will
People like to think they are in control. That every action, every desire, every impulse is a product of their own rational mind. But look closer.
How many times have you reached for your phone without thinking?
How many times have you told yourself you’d start tomorrow?
How many times have you followed a craving—not because you needed it, but because something inside you demanded it?
We believe we are making decisions, but often, we are simply following signals.
- Signals designed to trigger our instincts.
- Signals optimized to keep us engaged, addicted, consuming.
- Signals so deeply woven into our biology that resisting them feels unnatural.
It is not about discipline. It is about awareness.
Because the moment you recognize that these forces exist, you begin to see where your choices are not your own.
Modern life is engineered—not for your freedom, but for your compliance.
- Food is optimized for cravings, not nourishment.
- Technology is optimized for addiction, not connection.
- News is optimized for outrage, not truth.
- Products are optimized for dependence, not utility.
Not because you need to.
It is all designed to keep you reaching, scrolling, consuming.
But because someone else benefits if you do.
And so, without realizing it, we become passengers in our own lives. We eat things we don’t need, watch things we don’t care about, chase things we don’t truly want.
And we call it choice.
Breaking Free
Most people never question the currents they are caught in. They assume their habits are their own, their desires organic, their distractions harmless.
But every system has an architect.
And the only way to reclaim control is to step outside the cycle—to ask, Who benefits from me doing this?
- If what you consume gives more than it takes, keep it.
- If it dulls your awareness, steals your time, hijacks your attention, question it.
- If it leaves you feeling less like yourself, less in control, less awake, walk away.
Because the truth is, freedom is not about doing whatever you want.
It is about knowing why you want it in the first place.
Lessons in Awareness
- Not all cravings are real. Some are planted, some are conditioned. Learn the difference.
- If something feels automatic, question it. Nothing truly valuable is designed to be mindless.
- Distraction is a currency. The more of your attention they control, the less of your life you own.
- Breaking a cycle begins with seeing it. Awareness is the first step to freedom.
- Choose with intention. If you cannot explain why you want something, you probably don’t.
One day, I decided to watch myself. Not to change anything—just to observe.
I noticed how often my hand reached for my phone. How often I refreshed the same app. How often I chose convenience over effort, stimulation over stillness, routine over intention.
It wasn’t about food. It wasn’t about technology. It wasn’t about any one thing.
It was about everything.
It was about who I had become without realizing it.
And so, slowly, I started pulling back. One craving at a time. One habit at a time. One unconscious decision, brought into the light.
And for the first time in a long time, I felt something shift.
Not a craving.
Not an impulse.
Just the quiet, steady weight of being in control of my own life again.
life 
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