No...saying we have no choice in what we say or how we act is to overstate the matter.

Of course we do. And we probably do most of the time. It is just that we probably don't have quite the amount of Free Will we think we do, as the subconscious plays a major factor and has a major influence on our thoughts and actions.

Also at play is how the brain works. that is to say, how the neural pathways are formed. When you do the same thing over and over, like a habit, or even get stuck in the same rigid thought patterns, well, there is a physical reason for this. And it's in your brain.........

The pathways of the certain neurotransmitters that fire-up when you think or act. After a time they sort of "etch" a path in your brain. Much like how one wears a path in a field of dry grass if he walks that same route every day. So.....brain is presented with a choice, and the neuro-transmitter will fire along that "worn" neural pathway. It is akin to taking the path of least resistance.

This is how habits, and worse: addictions, are formed. Or at least this is one of the major ways in which they are formed. Thus: it is by creating NEW pathways in the brain that we really attain free will and choice. The act of doing this is referred to as "neural plasticity."

As far as "mind games" I think you were originally referring to manipulation. Like when somebody is trying to con you or push your buttons you accuse them of playing mind games. So sure, people do this. Not all the time but often, and of course it varies from person to person.

But my point here is that it is our very own minds that might be playing games on us, and we often may not know it.

SS