Professional Documents
Culture Documents
(2.26.16)
actions, meaning our future is in our own hands and we are responsible for the choices we make in our
lives. Lastly, we have the human need to have a frame of orientation or the need to have a road map to
make our way through the world. Without this map humans would be confused & unable to act
purposefully & consistently. I remember my experience related to this: my previous boss asked me if I
have a 10-year plan, and she showed me that I don't really have a plan on how to go through life. She
even told me that I am too young therefore she cannot distinguish yet if my decisions are smart ones or if
they are brashly madeI was resigning at that time and she was hesitant to let me go. That was a lifechanger for meI started to think that the here and now should really equate to 10 years, not the actual
day or week or month I am in. Now that I have a solid plan, I feel more alive than ever, and more
optimistic for the days to come. I can now move with a great sense of purpose and direction, and am
becoming more consistent with my decisions, like on what opportunities to grab and what opportunities
to let goeverything I do should be parallel with my 10-year plan. Otherwise, it should be ignored or
deemed unimportant.
Moving on, according to Fromm's Burden of Freedom, humans are still part of the world and
we cannot be completely free, but we can try. There is however negative mechanisms of escape and in
contrast, postive freedom which means we are free but not alone, critical but not 'skeptical' or filled with
doubts, independent yet still part of mankind. For me this is a 'happy' sense of freedom, and an
individual who experiences this must be feeling a high sense of self-actualization.
What I can conclude from Erich Fromm's theory is that he has marvelously defined what it means
to live a happy life and what it means to have a dignified existence. Fromm explained that happy people
knows how to receive, take when appropriate, preserve things, exchange things and knows how to work,
love and think productively. This is very true for me, though of course currently, I still need to work on
some aspects and continue to improve the other aspects.
Moreover, as a future competent counselor, I need to upgrade my communication skills, in order
to make sure I have 'utter concentration' and 'utter sincerity' when dealing with my future clients.
Relating with others has always been a natural trait for me, but still, I need to have a larger understanding
of the human's struggles or victories in life. This is one trait I am sure I can give my clients, but of course I
know that I cannot be complacent and always strive to give my very best to them.
Fromm has given quite a comprehensive take on the existentialist human being, though his
theory cannot be empirically validated thus its reliability is still being questioned up to the present. But
overall he has given us a good theory that most probably can be applied in the vocational and higher
educational setting, among others.