Life is a Game of Overcoming: Adler's Psychology of Achievement

Introduction: Adjusting the Difficulty of the Game of Life

Why do we feel life is so heavy and hard? Perhaps it’s because we treat life like a ‘final exam’ where not a single mistake is allowed. However, from Alfred Adler’s perspective, life is more like a huge ‘adventure game’ where we create our own rules and solve problems.

Instead of being frustrated and asking “Why is this happening only to me?” when a trial comes, if we can think “How do I clear this quest?”, the color of our lives will change completely. Today, we share the wisdom of Adlerian psychology that views life as a ‘game of overcoming difficulties.‘

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1. ‘Base Stats’ Called Inferiority and Compensation

We are all born feeling deficient. Adler called this Inferiority feeling. However, Adler’s inferiority is not a lack, but a powerful engine for growth.

• Compensation: Because we feel deficient, we strive to fill it, and in that process, humans evolve. Just as a low-level character in a game gains experience points through hunting and levels up, humans move to a higher stage of existence through efforts to overcome their inferiority.
• Driver of Growth: If we were perfect in every way, we would have made no effort and there would have been no growth. Difficulties are not obstacles that bother you, but are like monsters that appear to level you up.

2. Trials Are Not ‘Bad Luck’ but ‘Quests’

When playing a game, few people quit the game lamenting “Why am I so unhappy?” just because they met a difficult boss. Rather, they feel the fun of strategizing and challenging how to beat that boss.

• Self-determination: Adler believed that humans are not passive beings governed by the environment, but active subjects who utilize the environment.
• Assigning Meaning: There is no meaning in the trial itself. Whether to interpret that trial as a ‘disaster that will destroy me’ or a ‘quest that will make me solid’ depends only on the choice of you, the player.

3. Save Point Called ‘Courage to be Ordinary’

The biggest reason we can’t enjoy the game is the pressure of ‘having to be the best.’ The moment you think it’s meaningless unless you are rank 1, the game becomes a painful labor instead of a joyful play.

• Misunderstanding of Pursuit of Superiority: The pursuit of superiority Adler speaks of is not about winning a competition with others, but about ‘taking a step ahead of yesterday’s self.’
• Process Over Result: Just as reaching the summit isn’t the only meaning of mountain climbing, an ‘Energeia’ life attitude that finds joy in the process itself is needed. The ‘courage to be ordinary’ that allows you to say “Don’t overdo it, this is good enough!” even with an 80-point result makes us start again.

4. Social Interest: It’s Not a Solo Game

Many NPCs (sub-characters) and other players exist in the game of life. The thing that makes a game most boring is playing it alone.

• Social Interest: When you perceive others as partners, not competitors, the difficulty of the game decreases and the joy doubles.
• Joy of Cooperation: In the process of performing quests together and helping each other’s growth, we finally feel happiness as connected beings, not isolated ones. The question “How can I contribute to others?” is the most powerful cheat key for this game.

5. It’s OK to Fail, There’s ‘Retry’

The best part of the game of life is that we can start again anytime as long as we are breathing.

• Breakup with the Past: Adlerian psychology is ‘psychology that is not bound by the past.’ Past mistakes are like ‘Death’ in a game. You just need to respawn and use that mistake as a lesson to plan a better strategy.
• Here and Now: Focus on “What is the best operation I can do now?” rather than regretting “Why did I die just now?”. Every moment you focus improves your game skills.

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Conclusion: Grab Your Game Pad

Life is not a stage given to judge you. It is a playground given for you to explore as much as you want, fail, stand up again, and grow. Does the difficulty in front of you now look too huge? If so, it is evidence that you are facing that much of a huge level-up.

Reduce the seriousness and face your life like enjoying a game with a lighter heart. You are a legendary player who can clear the game of your own life in the most beautiful and greatest way.

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Read More:

• Individual psychology
• Striving for superiority
• Inferiority complex