“No 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.”
- February 7, 1870 – May 28, 1937
- Austrian
- Psychotherapist, Medical Doctor, Founder of Individual Psychology
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Quote
“No 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.”
Explanation
This quote articulates Alfred Adler’s radical view that experiences themselves do not determine our fate—rather, it is our interpretation and use of those experiences that shape our lives. Adler challenges the deterministic notion that trauma or adversity directly causes dysfunction or failure. Instead, he asserts that individuals assign meaning to their experiences in a way that aligns with their goals or beliefs, often unconsciously. In this framework, trauma is not an unavoidable sentence but a psychological raw material that can be shaped and redirected.
Adler developed this idea in opposition to Freud’s focus on early childhood trauma as a primary cause of neurosis. He proposed instead that people construct a “style of life”—a consistent pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting—based on how they choose to understand their past. A difficult experience might become a justification for avoidance, or it might serve as a motivation for achievement, depending on the person’s internal goals. Thus, suffering is not simply endured; it is used, either constructively or destructively.
In modern psychology, this concept resonates with resilience theory and narrative therapy, which emphasize the power of reframing personal history. For example, two individuals who experienced neglect might follow vastly different paths—one becoming compassionate and driven, the other withdrawn and bitter—not because of the event itself, but because of the meaning they assigned to it. Adler’s quote invites us to reclaim agency over our past and recognize that the story we tell ourselves matters more than the facts alone.
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