Jonah complex is a psychological term put forward by the famous American psychologist Maslow. Simply put, "Jonah complex" is the fear of growing up.
It comes from a hypothesis in psychodynamic theory: "People are not only afraid of failure, but also afraid of success." It represents a kind of self-escape, retreat and retreat from opportunities, and it is an emotional state, which makes us afraid to do what we can do well, or even avoid exploring our potential.
In daily life, Jonah complex may be characterized by lack of self-motivation, or "pseudo-stupidity". Its existence may be reasonable, but from the perspective of self-realization, it is a psychological obstacle that hinders self-realization.
Story 1
Jonah is a Christian concept, which means "dove". Pigeons are gentle; Pigeons' job is to send messages.
Jonah seems to have hidden himself after fulfilling the great mission entrusted by God, so that no one commemorates him and feels that he is not worthy of the name. He did this work out of necessity, and it was only because of God's great grace that he finished this work and attracted people's attention to God.
Story 2
Jonah is a character in the Bible. He himself is a devout Christian and has always longed for God's sending. Finally, God gave him a glorious task, that is, he announced the pardon of Nineveh, a city that was considered to have been destroyed by crime. Jonah refused the task. He ran away, constantly avoiding the God he believed in. God's power searched for him everywhere, awakened him, punished him, and even let a big fish swallow him up. Finally, after repeated and hesitant, he finally repented and completed his mission-announcing that Nineveh people were pardoned. "Jonah" refers to those who are eager to grow up and are afraid of growing up because of some internal obstacles. For Jonah, he was unwilling to do God's will because of hatred. The city of Nineveh, which he wants to pardon, is the sworn enemy who destroyed his family.
God is willing to bring a message to Nineveh, which is a lofty mission and a lofty glory, and Jonah has been longing for it. But once the ideal becomes a reality, I feel a kind of fear. I don't think I can do it. I want to avoid the upcoming success and turn away the sudden honor.
The basic characteristics of Jonah complex can be divided into two aspects:
On the one hand, it is manifested in yourself, on the other hand, it is manifested in others.
For myself, its characteristics are: avoiding growth and refusing to undertake a great mission.
For others, its characteristics are: envy others' Excellence and success, and gloat over others' misfortune.
When Maslow was teaching his graduate students, he asked them the following questions: "Who in your class wants to write the greatest novel in America?" "Who aspires to be a saint?" "Who will be a great leader?" Wait a minute. According to Maslow's records, in this case, his students usually respond by giggling, blushing and writhing uneasily. Maslow asked again, "Are you quietly planning to write a great psychological book?" They usually falter and stammer. Maslow also asked, "Aren't you going to be a psychologist?" Someone replied, "Of course." Maslow said, "Do you want to be a silent and cautious psychologist? What good is that? This is not an ideal way to realize yourself. "
Human beings have a Jonah complex, that is, instead of pursuing advanced needs and pursuing outstanding and lofty self-realization, they avoid advanced needs and outstanding and lofty life. People regard innocence as childish and ridiculous, honesty as credulity, frankness as ignorance, generosity as lack of judgment, enthusiasm for work as cowardice and sympathy as cheapness and blindness.
The problem with Jonah's complex is that he is afraid of being famous. If others become famous, they will be jealous and wish others bad luck. This complex hinders life growth and self-realization, and Maslow named it Jonah Complex. Hatred is the most common internal reason that hinders growth in real life. We can often observe this situation. A clever young man, who did well in school, suddenly fell ill on the eve of the college entrance examination, so that he lost the opportunity to take the exam. Later, he worked, and he was very capable and appreciated it. But when he was about to get a key promotion, he resigned again ..... Although these things seem accidental, when we come into contact with his inner world, we will find that he has hidden resentment against his parents. In order to subconsciously retaliate against his parents' wishes, he subconsciously ruined his future. Its potential wish can be expressed as: "You can't get a successful son, I just want to disappoint you!" We sometimes realize these inner conflicts, but more often, they are hidden in the unconscious.
People should not only avoid their own lows, but also avoid their own peaks. Not only afraid of their lowest possibility, but also afraid of their highest possibility. When Jonah Complex develops to the extreme, it is a self-destructive complex, that is, when faced with honor, success, happiness and other beautiful things, there will always be thoughts of "I don't deserve it" and "I can't stand it", and finally give up the opportunity to quit. Most of us have a "Jonah complex" in our hearts, psychologists say. This is because when we are young, due to the limitations and immaturity of our own conditions, it is easy to have negative thoughts such as "I can't do it" and "I can't do it". If the surrounding environment does not provide us with enough sense of security and opportunities for our growth, these thoughts will always accompany us. Especially when the chance of success comes, these psychological manifestations are particularly obvious. Because seizing the opportunity of success means making considerable efforts, facing many unpredictable changes and taking risks that may lead to failure.
There is no doubt that "Jonah complex" is a manifestation of balancing our inner psychological pressure. In fact, each of us has a chance to succeed, but when faced with the opportunity, only a few people dare to break the balance, understand and overcome their "Jonah complex", take responsibility and pressure, and finally seize and get the chance to succeed. This is also an important reason why only a few people are successful, while most people are mediocre.
Jonah complex is a complex psychological phenomenon.
Jonah complex is a common psychological and social phenomenon. Psychologists have made the following analysis on its origin:
First, due to the limitation of one's own conditions and other reasons, when one is faced with various things, he has the idea of "I can't do it" and "I can't do it", which has laid a "hidden danger" and "foreshadowing" for his future growth.
The second is the influence of the surrounding environment. Because the surrounding environment can't provide you with a sense of security and opportunities for growth, and the "hidden dangers" left before, people will have a feeling of "suffering from loss", thus losing favorable opportunities and opportunities.
Third, the influence of national culture and herd mentality, such as "rotting under the eaves" and "shooting at the head with a gun", often makes people pretend to be a "modest" coat, and even deliberately caters to the public psychology, making their edges and corners smooth, thus leading to self-indulgence and mediocrity. If a person wants to succeed, he must understand and overcome his "Jonah complex", recognize the opportunity with his eyes, seize the opportunity, bravely take responsibility and pressure, and create a good development platform for his growth and success.
To overcome the influence of Jonah complex, we must first carry out a series of psychological corrections:
First, everyone should recognize their inner situation and boldly admit the existence of Jonah complex. In the face of responsibility and pressure, we should overcome fear and fear, summon up courage, strengthen confidence, believe in ourselves, know that there are tigers in the mountains, and travel in the mountains. No matter what difficulties and setbacks we encounter, we must have the courage and confidence to burn our bridges and fight to the end.
Second, to overcome the fear of growth, but also to see their own shortcomings. Growth and success is a gradual process. In this process, we must pay hard work, sweat and efforts, and even fail. Nothing in the world is difficult for one who sets his mind to it. As long as each of us tries our best and exerts our due potential, if we fail, it will be a glorious failure. Although we failed, we can at least accumulate some experiences and lessons, so that the day of success is just around the corner.
Third, we should have the courage and confidence to "volunteer". Instead of waiting for others to discover ourselves, we should show our talents to the maximum extent. Bole Xiangma is admirable, but the premise is to insist on diligence and find a good pony. Wouldn't it be sad to wait? !