There has been a long-standing disagreement over whether heredity or environment is more important in the development of human beings. 

In the counseling arena, why people do what they do when they do how they do are the questions that need to be answered. 

Is it because of nature or nurture? 

We are all the sum totals of our life’s experiences and depending on the course of our lives this question may not ever have a defining answer. 

It is believed that knowledge is transferred through genetic information honed by a process of natural selection. 

Besides looking alike, twins share the exact same gene. Even with the fraternal twins, growing up in the same surroundings leads scientists to favor nature over nurture.  

Although it is believed that nature is more influential than nurture. 

Some experts believe that nurture is more influential than nature based on the fact that our minds are a blank sheet of paper upon which knowledge of experiences are written. It is this information that helps to define the aspect of our behavior acquired from our environment. 

Just because someone looks the same on the outside does not mean that they function the same and just because they look different on the outside does not mean that they will act differently. 

My dad knew the streets and had a Ph.D in street life. I longed for the day that I would be able to be street savvy like him.  The environment around me did not change, the environment in my mind changed. 

When I graduated high school, my dad, (who didn’t) was the proudest man in the world. His son had beaten the streets. No criminal record, no drug and alcohol issues, no children. 

The world was mine to do what I wanted. 

The baton of my future was passed to my mother who at the age of 40+ went to school full time and got her Bachelor’s and Masters. 

This nurturing changed the environment of my mental surroundings and I too have my Masters. 

Unless we relocate what’s in our minds, we will repeat that which is in our nature to do. 

Success is not something that you win on a scratch-off. It is what a person prepares for. 

My dad prepared me for life, my mom prepared me for living. 

When preparation meets opportunity, it breeds success. 

No matter what your DNA says.