guiding fiction, n.All

A Guiding fiction (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠a failed life-line: it persists far too long, with the tenacity of a cramp.

A Guiding fiction (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠the introverted neurotic's formula, abstracted from experience to shield him from life's limitless possibilities — clung to as tenaciously as the extraverted neurotic clings to the object of his transference.

A Guiding fiction (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠a psychological system that tries to turn an inferiority into a superiority.

The Guiding fiction (n.) matters ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠more to Adler's neurotic than his past: what drives him is not pleasure in the object but staying on top.