While science has dramatically veered away from the notion of genetic determinism, educational institutions and the media still program the public with this archaic belief. Since we did not pick our genes — at least as far as we know, and since we cannot change our genes if we do not like our traits, we are left with the understanding that genes control our fate and that we are “victims” of heredity. This belief is especially discouraging to those born into families whose lineage express what appear to be “genetic” diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and obesity.
Too many have said, “Hey, I can’t do anything about it anyway, so why should I care? Overweight? It has nothing to do with me, it runs in my family.”
You may be wondering what can we do? How do I become self empowered? Review our belief changing resources.