Choices agreed upon over time are called habits. They are agreed upon by what you think is in your best interest. In this realm, from the beginning of your childhood, survival is what your best interest is. Before you even became aware of your own identity, survival had the reins. Having enough money for clothes, food, and shelter. Basic resources for living.
Now to survive, warriors and beast alike know that you must be able to protect yourself in some way. Survival calls for being able to protect your resources and your right to live.
The human mind's way of protecting itself is through programming. Putting things on automatic to ease oneself of the burden of manually typing each program letter by letter. Programming allows one to react to a certain circumstance automatically, like a knee-jerk reaction. If a similar situation arises, a code already exists for that predicament. No effort has to be put into manually controlling a response. Objectively, this is efficient. In terms of neuroscience, this is a survival advantage. For example, the amygdalic fight-or-flight response is automatic because it's the body's response to danger.
However, choices are still made. Regardless if they are conscious, subconscious, or automatic. ALL is MIND and the Universe is Mental.
Going to the bathroom is a choice.
Putting your left foot in front of your right foot is a choice.
Choosing to respond to others is a choice.
Be mindful of your choices, for that is where they are born. Your mind.