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Four Fac tors (Layers) of Our Makeup

Kabbalah states that four factors determine a person’s state at
each and every moment:

1. Source. This is the starting point, the spiritual genepool.
But it is not a blank canvas. Think of it more as a wall
that has been painted and repainted many times. The layers of
previous coats of paint are there beneath the surface. Perhaps
they cannot be seen or distinguished, but they are a part of the
composition of that wall, always the starting point for the next 

layer of transformation, as a wall’s current paint is always the
undercoat for the next coat.
2. Unchanging paths of development that stem from one’s
nature. This factor deals with the way we evolve as a result of our
genes. These paths may refer to things we tend to like or dislike,
our talents and other hereditary traits.

3. Paths of development that change under the influence
of external factors. This is our attitude toward the external
environment. Say you get a bad performance review from your
boss at work. You may be upset and angry, and feel that the
feedback is unfair, or you may decide your boss has your best interest at heart
and told you what you need to do in order to succeed. Either way, the external
event of your boss’ criticism will inevitably affect you and change you.

4. Paths of development of the external factors themselves.
The fourth factor is the external environment and its continued
evolution. To continue the previous example, if you chose to
change your boss (perhaps by changing your job), this would
expose you to a new set of influences, but these would be
influences you have chosen to be under.

As the four factors show, the confluence of a person’s
origin, inner nature, unchangeable and changeable outside
forces all contribute to our inner makeup. However, of all four
elements, the only element we can modify is the fourth, our
environment. But because the elements affect each other, by
changing our environment, we can ultimately shape all other
elements within us.