I have never liked the phrase "choose what to believe." If it were a choice I would believe in God — it would make for a much simpler, happier world, not to mention a happier me, if all we had to do was follow some arbitrary set of rules to be rewarded with eternal bliss in the afterlife. But it doesn't work that way. I go where the evidence leads. I believe those things that have been shown to be true, and my beliefs can change in the face of new evidence. If it were a choice the world would not seem nearly so shitty.
I think this in itself, is the distinction, though. It's not about whether you chose to believe in simple facts like the fact that the wall that's in my way will disappear if I run faster and don't believe in it. You choose to base your beliefs off of the evidence that exists before you, while others may choose to place their belief in faith. Perhaps, you're right, you have no choice in the matter, and this is simply how you are hardwired to view the world, but there are certainly individuals who hold onto their beliefs so tightly, that even the light of the strongest evidence, they cannot shake those beliefs. It may not be that they are fully ignoring the evidence, but that their interpretation is different. For example, there is no proof of God, and thus, there is no God, or there is no proof there is no God, and thus, there is God. Those are definitive statements that are based, at the end of the day, on the evidence of there being no evidence. So, I mean... :|
If you truly, with all of your heart, chose to not approach the world the way that you do, I'm sure you could manage it. Depending on the degree, some might put you in a padded cell, though, but hey, it's kinda like a B&B as a reward for cracking the code, right?