Children love and want to be loved and they very much prefer the joy of accomplishment to the triumph of hateful failure. Do not mistake a child for his symptom.
Erik EriksonRead
In the social jungle of human existence, there is no feeling of being alive without a sense of identity.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Identity is essential for a fulfilling human experience.
Erik Erikson's quote emphasizes the importance of identity in our lives, suggesting that a sense of who we are is fundamental to feeling truly alive. In the complex social environment we inhabit, our personal identity shapes our interactions and experiences, allowing us to connect meaningfully with others and understand our place in the world.
Themes
IdentityExistenceSelfSocialHuman
In practice
Example use cases
During a discussion on personal growth at a workshop, you could use this quote to highlight the necessity of understanding one's identity.
More from Erik Erikson
All quotes βMen have always shown a dim knowledge of their better potentialities by paying homage to those purest leaders who taught the simplest and most inclusive rules for an undivided mankind.
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Nobody likes to be found out, not even one who has made ruthless confession a part of his profession. Any autobiographer, therefore, at least between the lines, spars with his reader and potential judge.
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You've got to learn to accept the law of life, and face the fact that we disintegrate slowly.
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You see a child play, and it is so close to seeing an artist paint, for in play a child says things without uttering a word. You can see how he solves his problems. You can also see what's wrong. Young children, especially, have enormous creativity, and whatever's in them rises to the surface in free play.
Erik EriksonRead
Parents must not only have certain ways of guiding by prohibition and permission, they must also be able to represent to the child a deep, almost somatic conviction that there is meaning in what they are doing.
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