142 Quotes by Alfred Adler

These three ties, therefore, set three problems: how to find an. occupation which will enable us to survive under the limitations set by the nature of the earth; how to find a position among our fellows, so that we may cooperate and share the benefits of cooperation; how to accommodate ourselves to the fact that we live in two sexes and that the continuance and furtherance of mankind depends upon our love-life. Individual.

It is easier to fight for one’s principles than to live up to them.

Play is a child’s work and this is not a trivial pursuit.

Mathematics 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.

We must never neglect the patient’s own use of his symptoms.

It is easy to believe that life is long and one’s gifts are vast – easy at the beginning, that is. But the limits of life grow more evident; it becomes clear that great work can be done rarely, if at all.

If I didn’t have this affliction, I would be the first. As a rule the if-clause contains an unfulfillable condition, or the patient’s own arrangement, which only he can change.

The only normal people are the ones you don’t know very well.

Tears and complaints – the means which I have called water power – can be an extremely useful weapon for disturbing cooperation and reducing other to a condition of slavery.