The child approaches the mother with a big lollipop, smiling. The mother, however, said, "I don't want you to eat now." The child's face changes quickly; the way she looks at the candy seems to contain the worries of the whole universe. The child places the candy in the mother's hand. The mother hugs the child and says, "Thank you! You're the best!" The child's face is filled with joy as if he has won the entire world.
In place of giving up immediate external physical pleasure, the child recovered his self-esteem by earning a positive reward from his mother's recognition. This is the power of the creative self.
Psychiatrist Alfred Adler said, "With the creative power of the self, we can also solve the need for compensation." Humans are not just passive beings, but active beings who create meaning on their own. However, modern society subordinates us to a quick reward system, forcing us to pack up and flee even before we can exert creative power. The addictive reward you seek while trying to overcome your inferiority complex is, in the end, a dangerous temptation to cover it up. As I am driven by temporary compensation, I am gradually moving away from my true self.
We are now living in an era of reward addiction. From the moment I wake up to my smartphone alarm in the morning to a cup of coffee, music, YouTube, and online shopping, I respond to the constant 'external reward'. But I don't even realize whether it's my choice or being dragged by the reward system.
Not long ago, when I asked young people, "What is the biggest temptation that hinders my growth?" no one picked up a smartphone. For them, smartphones are not a temptation but an indispensable tool. We know how to use tools, but are we actually being used by them? The means to an end have become the end itself, and hours are wasted without knowing it.
There is nothing more dangerous than not being aware of a need. The automated reward moves us without the awareness of 'reward'. The more you do, the more life becomes subordinate to the design of others, and the power of self-interpretation and meaning becomes paralyzed.
Rewards are always aimed at our deficiencies. He needs the external compensation to soothe his inferiority complex, but the reward leaves only a fake feeling of satiety instead of real satisfaction. Inferiority in the unconscious stimulates the desire for compensation, and we are drawn to that need and live a life consumed by a reward system rather than creating a life for ourselves.
As Adler said, do we humans inherently have the creative power within ourselves? If so, does it clearly have the ability not to be subordinated to immediate compensation, swayed by the external environment?
The child gave up the immediate and sensuous reward of candy, but chose the more profound and lasting satisfaction of the mother's love, recognition, and belonging. It did not suppress the desire, but changed its direction. This is a reward for self-growth, and it is an active choice, not passive suppression. Through that choice, the child sublimates his needs to a higher value. It is a fantastic moment to experience one's inherent creative power.
It's like the experience that a more meaningful path opens only when you give up a comfortable path, and a journey back to the essence of existence, like a salmon going back against a strong current.
We all have the power of a creative self. The question is the will to use it. Every moment, the key is whether you can make a choice that sees the whole instead of a part. In an age of reward, "living life as a struggler" may be an uncomfortable choice. But it's a choice that makes me who I am.
Being the subject who actively chooses instead of recklessly jumping into a quick reward system. This would be the way to build the muscles of the creative self.
How can we build the power of our creative selves? The first step is to recognize the 'reward system'. Before going to sleep, when casually picking up a smartphone, I quietly ask myself, "Why am I doing this now?" This question awakens my inner spirit.
Change direction toward positive rewards through small choices such as reading a page of a book, contemplating, and praying. It is the way for salmon to move toward the essence of existence, going against a strong current. There, the breath of creation and the gaze of God who created me await.
As Adler said, do we humans inherently have the creative power within ourselves? If so, does it clearly have the ability not to be subordinated to immediate compensation, swayed by the external environment?
The child gave up the immediate and sensuous reward of candy, but chose the more profound and lasting satisfaction of the mother's love, recognition, and belonging. It did not suppress the desire, but changed its direction. This is a reward for self-growth, and it is an active choice, not passive suppression. Through that choice, the child sublimates his needs to a higher value. It is a fantastic moment to experience one's inherent creative power.
It's like the experience that a more meaningful path opens only when you give up a comfortable path, and a journey back to the essence of existence, like a salmon going back against a strong current.
We all have the power of a creative self. The question is the will to use it. Every moment, the key is whether you can make a choice that sees the whole instead of a part. In an age of reward, "living life as a struggler" may be an uncomfortable choice. But it's a choice that makes me who I am.
Being the subject who actively chooses instead of recklessly jumping into a quick reward system. This would be the way to build the muscles of the creative self.
How can we build the power of our creative selves? The first step is to recognize the 'reward system'. Before going to sleep, when casually picking up a smartphone, I quietly ask myself, "Why am I doing this now?" This question awakens my inner spirit.
Change direction toward positive rewards through small choices such as reading a page of a book, contemplating, and praying. It is the way for salmon to move toward the essence of existence, going against a strong current. There, the breath of creation and the gaze of God who created me await.
Without wrapping ourselves up or fleeing with external rewards, we accept the preciousness and love we have already received. In that love, the inferiority complex heals, and the ego breathes. You don't push the real me away with fake rewards, but you accept the true me with positive rewards.
He asks whenever the unconscious inferiority complex brings the temptation of external rewards. "Where are you?" (Genesis 3, 9) The creative self wakes up in the step toward Eden.
He asks whenever the unconscious inferiority complex brings the temptation of external rewards. "Where are you?" (Genesis 3, 9) The creative self wakes up in the step toward Eden.
