Far more unwaveringly, the neurotic keeps before his eye his God, his idol, his ideal of personality and clings to his guiding principle, losing sight in the meanwhile of reality, whereas the normal person is always ready to dispense with this crutch, this aid, and reckon unhampered with reality.
Alfred AdlerIt is one of the most effective attitudes of the neurotic to measure thumbs down, so to speak, a real person by an ideal, since in doing so he can depreciate him as much as he wishes.
Alfred AdlerIf you wish to educate a child who has gone wrong, then you must, above all, keep your attention fixed on the intersection of two charmed circles.
Alfred AdlerEvery pampered child becomes a hated child.... There is no greater evil than the pampering of children.
Alfred AdlerA simple rule in dealing with those who are hard to get along with is to remember that this person is striving to assert his superiority; and you must deal with him from that point of view.
Alfred AdlerMathematics is pure language - the language of science. It is unique among languages in its ability to provide precise expression for every thought or concept that can be formulated in its terms.
Alfred AdlerCourage is not an ability one either possess or lacks. Courage is the willingness to engage in a risk-taking behavior regardless of whether the consequences are unknown or possibly adverse. We are capable of courageous behavior provided we are willing to engage in it. Given that life offers few guarantees, all living requires risk-taking.
Alfred AdlerThe science of the mind can only have for its proper goal the understanding of human nature by every human being, and through its use, brings peace to every human soul.
Alfred AdlerNo experience is a cause of success or failure. We do not suffer from the shock of our experiences, so-called trauma - but we make out of them just what suits our purposes.
Alfred AdlerEach generation has its few great mathematicians, and mathematics would not even notice the absence of the others. They are useful as teachers, and their research harms no one, but it is of no importance at all. A mathematician is great or he is nothing.
Alfred AdlerTo be a human being means to possess a feeling of inferiority which constantly presses towards its own conquest. The greater the feeling of inferiority that has been experienced, the more powerful is the urge for conquest and the more violent the emotional agitation.
Alfred Adlerseeing with the eyes of another, listening with the ears of another, and feeling with the heart of another.
Alfred AdlerViolence as a way of gaining power... is being camouflaged under the guise of tradition, national honor [and] national security.
Alfred AdlerThe educator must believe in the potential power of his pupil, and he must employ all his art in seeking to bring his pupil to experience this power.
Alfred AdlerTo all those who walk the path of human cooperation war must appear loathsome and inhuman.
Alfred AdlerWhat is courage? Courage is the willingness to risk failure...There is only one danger I find in life, and that, indeed, is a real one. You may take too many precautions.
Alfred AdlerIn the company of friends, writers can discuss their books, economists the state of the economy, lawyers their latest cases, and businessmen their latest acquisitions, but mathematicians cannot discuss their mathematics at all. And the more profound their work, the less understandable it is.
Alfred AdlerWhat do you first do when you learn to swim? You make mistakes, do you not? And what happens? You make other mistakes, and when you have made all the mistakes you possibly can without drowning - and some of them many times over - what do you find? That you can swim? Well - life is just the same as learning to swim! Do not be afraid of making mistakes, for there is no other way of learning how to live!
Alfred AdlerTrust only movement. Life happens at the level of events, not of words. Trust movement.
Alfred Adler