Adler 101, and a note to self

Alright, alright. We all know that I'm in the flood of information that makes up my thesis research (the light is at the end of the tunnel. I'm down to 4 books left to read. I mean, I did just get two more assigned... but yah. The pile dwindles.)

I am looking through some stuff I am reading today, and I realize that I really needed to revisit the big German words Adler threw around when he was developing Individual Psychology (which is what my counseling psych work is all rooted in, theoretically, as well as the foundation of my philisophical orientation in Organization Development.)

Let's review here, shall we?

Gemeinschaftgefuhl:
Literally translated, Community Feeling. It speaks of being socially embedded, of belonging. Because we are socially embedded in our communities, we form a life style which helps us act either out of social interest (we acknowledge and embrace community feeling) or self interest (we reject and fight against community feeling).
Lesson learned here: Gemeinschaftgefuhl is good. I want to strive toward having it at all times.
Schopferische Kraft:
Creative power. This is the individual power we each have that keeps us from being determined by forces outside ourselves (oftentimes, I think I hear this referred to as external v. internal locus of control). It's also the power inside ourselves we tap when we have to endure hardship, tackle a tough change, make difficult decisions. The philosophy here is: It is not what it IS, it is what we make of it.
Lesson learned here: tap into your Schopferische Kraft (or, if you like, have an internal locus of control.) The only person who makes you happy, gives you strength, defines you, shapes your destiny, is you.
Geltungestreben:
Striving for significance -- our instinctive human desire to matter, to be important and to contribute in some way. Again, there is a spectrum here... you can either strive for significance in a useful or a useless way. We strive for useful significance when we strive for the success of oru community -- the greater good. We strive for useless significance when we chase our own prestige, priveledge and rewards with no regard to its effect on others.
Lesson learned here: We all possess Geltungestreben -- the desire for significance. But that desire is meaningless, empty and counterproductive when it looks at only what you want. Striving for significance must be useul -- humans are only truly usefully significant when making a positive contribution to the greater community.

OK, I'll jump off my soapbox now. I really just wanted to put these here as a personal reminder:
Sarah... this is the philosophy you live by. This is what you believe to be true. It doesn't make it "T" truth, but it is your truth. Don't forget it. Live each day this way.