The weight placed upon the value of competitive success is so great in our culture and the anxiety occasioned by the possibility of failure to achieve this goal is so prevalent that there is reason for assuming that individual competitive success is both the dominant goal in our culture and the most pervasive occasion for anxiety… It may be admitted that every individual has normal needs to gain security and acceptance, but this does not explain why in our culture such security is conceived chiefly in competitive terms. And although it may be assumed that every individual has normal needs to expand in his achievement and to increase his capacities and power, why is it that in our society this 'normal' ambition takes an individualistic form? Why is it defined chiefly in inverse relation to the community, so that the failure of others has the same relative effect as one's own success?… And why does competition in our culture carry such stringent penalties and rewards, so that… the individual's feeling of value as a human being so regularly depends upon his competitive triumph?
The Meaning of Anxiety (1950, revised 1977)
Use the links below to read a short introduction to the theory and practice of Existential Psychotherapy and watch a 10 minute video that explains the work of North American Existential Psychotherapist ROLLO MAY:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/evil-deeds/201101/what-is-existential-psychotherapy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wms_RXEta5c
You might also enjoy:
Think About It 022: CHRISTOPHER LASCH
No comments:
Post a Comment