"I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive
element. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my
daily mood that makes the weather. I possess tremendous power to make
life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of
inspiration, I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations,
it is my response that decides whether a crisis is escalated or
de-escalated, and a person is humanized or de-humanized. If we treat
people as they are, we make them worse. If we treat people as they ought
to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming."

- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)

"You can run your whole life, and not get anywhere."

Mike Ness, Social Distortion

Yeah, that's the scary thing about freedom.  You are totally responsible for every aspect of your life, have no one else to blame, can change it if you want to-but many don't out of fear, or laziness, or ignorance, or being trapped by habits and patterns.