The Future Lies Within Your Current Decisions: Adler's Teleology

Introduction: Do You ‘Wait’ for the Future, or ‘Create’ It?

Many people think of the future as ‘something to wait for’ or ‘something that comes by fate.’ So they visit fortune-tellers to ask about their future, or believe that their future is already gloomily determined due to past trauma. However, Alfred Adler presents us with a completely different view of time.

“The future is already contained in the form of a seed in the decisions you make at this moment.” It means your future is not a result of the past, but a scenario rewritten every moment according to what you choose now.

1. Teleology: Not “Why?” but “For What Purpose?”

The biggest characteristic of Adlerian psychology is that it rejects ‘Etiology’ (being obsessed with the past) and established ‘Teleology’ toward future purposes.

Deconstruction of Causality: Linear thinking like “I am unhappy now (result) because I was hurt in the past (cause)” makes us prisoners of the past.
Choice of Purpose: Adler viewed that “one is achieving the purpose (goal) of attracting others’ attention or avoiding responsibility by becoming unhappy (means).”
Future Decision Power: If we reset a ‘healthy purpose’ right now, everything in the past transforms into resources and lessons for achieving that purpose. In other words, a new future is born in the decision to change the purpose.

2. Current Decisions Change the ‘Life Style’

We make tens of thousands of decisions a day. Adler viewed that these seemingly trivial decisions gather to form a huge system of behavior called ‘Life Style’.

Power of the Present: Even if you have an old belief (frame) like “I am a person who always fails,” the moment you decide to “try one more time” today, a subtle change occurs in your future trajectory.
Accumulation of Choices: Just as the destination changes by hundreds of kilometers even if the angle of a plane is changed just a little during takeoff/landing, the small attitude decision of this moment determines where you will stand in the distant future.

3. Farewell to the Excuse of ‘Helplessness’

Humans often outsource their decision-making power by blaming the environment or fate. However, Adler trusted the ‘Creative Power’ inherent in humans.

Reinterpretation of the Past: You cannot change events that happened in the past, but you can decide now ‘what meaning to assign’ to those events. The moment you declare, “I decided to become strong because of that event,” you become a creator of the future, not a victim of the past.
Responsibility for Decisions: Saying that the future is within current decisions means that the responsibility for my future lies with me. This gives a heavy sense of responsibility, but at the same time, it grants the powerful freedom to hold the helm in any storm.

4. Energeia: Dance Through This Moment

The future Adler speaks of is not a ‘terminal station’ far away. If you see life as ‘climbing’ toward a summit, if you give up midway, it becomes a failure, but if you see it as an ‘Energeia’ activity like dancing at every moment, every moment you dance is already complete.

Here and Now: The decision that “I will be happy when I succeed later” is an act of mortgaging future happiness. Rather, the decision that “at this moment I will contribute and find joy” already fills your future with happiness.
Continuous Decisions: The future does not come as a whole, but is the result of countless ‘nows’ connected. If you are making the best decisions now, you are already living the most desirable future.

5. Just One Question for Change

If you want to change your future, ask yourself this question at every moment: “Is this decision helpful for my growth, or is it an act of hiding in the inertia of the past?”

Taking Courage: Staying in an average past is comfortable, but there is no change. The future is always opened through ‘decisions’ to tolerate discomfort and choose new paths.
Experience of Small Victories: Today, one small decision to stop the heart that was trying to blame others and instead choose contribution will create a new circuit in your brain and lead you to a completely different future.

Conclusion: The Future Placed on the Back of Your Hand

The future is not an unknown world hidden in the fog. It is the ‘ore of possibility’ waiting for your choice right now. Don’t let others tell your future. Don’t let shadows of the past block your way.

Adler says: “What matters is not what you have, but your decision on how to use what you were given.” The decision you make today will be the future you dreamed of. Now, what kind of future will you choose?

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