Fitting oneself to both the internal and external world. Learning how to meet basic social, collective expectations. There are two broad modes of adaptation; these are the attitudes of introversion and extroversion; both are necessary. Adaptation to the external world without adaptation to the inner world leads to meaninglessness and a tendency to compulsively act out inner conflicts; the reverse also leads to self deception and, in addition, an unhealthy (and usually problematic) separation from reality. Adaptation is a constant process, as conditions are always changing. Failure to adapt leads to neuroses.
Man is not a machine in the sense that he can consistently maintain the same output of work. He can meet the demands of outer necessity in an ideal way only if he is also adapted to his own inner world, that is, if he is in harmony with himself. Conversely, he can only adapt to his inner world and achieve harmony with himself when he is adapted to the environmental conditions.
- "On Psychic Energy," ibid., par. 75.
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