Alfred Adler

Alfred Adler, a Viennese medical doctor and psychotherapist, known for his concept of 'Individual Psychology', dared to break away from Freud's rather... assertive shadow, forging his own path in understanding the human psyche. While Freud emphasized the unconscious – a murky realm indeed – Adler shifted the focus to the individual's conscious striving for significance and belonging, placing immense value on social context. He believed that the feeling of inferiority, that nagging sense of 'not enough,' is a universal human experience, but not a life sentence. Our style of life – how we choose to compensate for it – shapes our personality and our path. It is also, I suspect, influenced by one's siblings -- a subject I might know a thing or two about. Adler, often seen with a contemplative gaze, a slight smile playing on his lips as if privy to some grand cosmic joke, possessed a knack for pinpointing the core of a person's struggles. He was particularly adept at tracing these struggles back to their roots in family dynamics and early childhood experiences. He always carries a worn pocket watch, a memento from his days as a young doctor.