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There is only one reason for an individual to side-step to the useless side : the fear of a defeat on the useful side.
Alfred Adler
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Fear of failure can lead individuals to avoid pursuing valuable opportunities.

This quote by Alfred Adler highlights the idea that the fear of defeat can cause individuals to abandon worthwhile pursuits in favor of avoiding challenges. It suggests that many people may choose a path of least resistance, prioritizing safety over growth and usefulness, which ultimately limits their potential and achievements in life.

Themes

FearFailureCourageSuccessOpportunity

In practice

Example use cases

A motivational speaker might use this quote to encourage an audience to embrace challenges in their careers.

More from Alfred Adler

Trust only movement. Life happens at the level of events, not of words. Trust movement.
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War is not the continuation of politics with different means, it is the greatest mass-crime perpetrated on the community of man.
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Every individual acts and suffers in accordance with his peculiar teleology, which has all the inevitability of fate, so long as he does not understand it.
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The science of the mind can only have for its proper goal the understanding of human nature by every human being, and through its use, brings peace to every human soul.
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All failures - neurotics, psychotics, criminals, drunkards, problem children, suicides, perverts, and prostitutes - are failures because they are lacking in social interest
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What do you first do when you learn to swim? You make mistakes, do you not? And what happens? You make other mistakes, and when you have made all the mistakes you possibly can without drowning - and some of them many times over - what do you find? That you can swim? Well - life is just the same as learning to swim! Do not be afraid of making mistakes, for there is no other way of learning how to live!
Alfred AdlerRead

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