4 Quotes by Carl Jung on Personal Growth
Talking about Carl Jung isn’t a simple task, since some of his thought is deep and complex. With his skill at introspection he was able to shine a light for the other lost souls in the world so they could find themselves. So, he brought light to human knowledge and and spoke honestly about the points he saw as necessary to dig deeply into our own psychology. As a result we have many great thoughts from Jung on personal growth.
So, moving forward we’re going to collect some of the ideas Jung formulated. Ideas that often resonate like mantras inside us. Revolutionary thoughts that, interpreted right, can be real agents of change.
Jung on personal growth through experiencing the “unlived life”
“The unlived life is a sickness which can cause death.”
Effectively…we all have desires, aspirations, motivations, and an immense potential to be uncovered. Oftentimes we find ourselves living a life that doesn’t suit us. Our inner being screams and no one listens to it. It gets uncomfortable and fights, but ends up accepting a destiny other than the one it was seeking.
Sometimes we end up living in a way that doesn’t suit us. A way that doesn’t make sense, or fit with us. The lack of authenticity and truth with oneself takes its toll on our body and mind. Living life in an inauthentic way has repercussions that your body and your experiences will quickly take it upon themselves to show you.
Jung on personal growth through combating projection
“Everything that irritates us about other people brings us to an understanding of ourselves.”
Once again projections improve our self-knowledge. When we project, we create the opportunity to see clearly in someone else what we can’t see in ourselves. What we don’t want to see…the paradox is oftentimes we’re unable to recognize it even in front of that mirror.
Projections can be made about the thing we hate about someone else or what we admire in others. But we don’t see it within ourselves. When you realize you’re totally irritated by something that should never have made a difference to you, take a moment to consider whether it might have something to do with something you hate about yourself but won’t accept.
It’s not about self-hate, Jung didn’t want to go that far. It’s about understanding our own dark points and accepting them in order to be able to change them. If not, we’ll always project onto someone else whatever we don’t accept about ourselves. And once again we’ll be condemned to a life of self-deception and inauthenticity.
We grow when we pursue that which we fear
“Whatever you’re resistant to, follow it.”
All the lessons you’ll learn in your life will be repeated until you manage to learn them and incorporate them into the knowledge you accumulate about yourself and the world. There are so many times you’ve run into the same types of people that have hurt you, but you keep throwing yourself into an impossible task. And how many times have you seen yourself resistant to accept your shadows.
You heap them into a box you don’t want to see. But they’re still there, and the more effort you make to hide your nature, the more strongly it will come to the surface. In an uncontrollable and unpredictable way because you, by trying to cover it with a sheet, have given up that control.
Jung on personal growth through acknowledging our emotions
“Depression is like a woman in black. If she turns up, don’t shoo her away. Invite her in, offer her a seat, treat her like a guest, and listen to what she has to say.”
Otherwise, how will we know why she’s appeared…? If we don’t sit these surprise guests down at our table and listen to them, we’ll never understand why they appeared. Emotions have to latch onto a feeling in order to exist. They appear for a concrete purpose. Something needs to be seen, heard, and accepted in order to be changed. Living with our backs to ourselves won’t do much for us. It won’t take long for unpleasant and hard-to-direct feelings to appear.
Without a doubt, they must be statements that resonate inside you. All of them invite us to be authentic, to not cover up what’s ours, to listen to what life has to say to us, and not turn our back on it. To respect ourselves and others without unfairly putting something on them that’s not theirs. Thank you, Jung, for this legacy you left. It helps us every one of us with our personal growth process. A process which, in any case, never pauses or ends.