Focus on Others
Social interest at work.
For years, I’ve seen the wisdom of the psychologist Alfred Adler at work. Clients who have struggled for years with depression or anxiety or many other issues have been helped by therapy that shows them how their private logic (mistaken beliefs) can be challenged and eventually changed. This is very similar to CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), which Adler influenced. Adler doesn’t stop there, however. There is even more that Adler emphasizes in terms of movement towards a goal. Not just any goal: it’s not enough to shoot for making as much money as possible in this life, or achieving some special status. Adler talks about striving for a goal that is related to improving your social interest.
There are entire books related to the idea of social interest, so I’m not going to go into much detail here except to say that in general social interest is about improving the world. This sounds like an impossible task at first, but the idea is that it is done just a little at a time by a lot of people. It doesn’t have to be a huge project. Choosing to make one person’s life better does it.
Social interest means the ability to see oneself as part of the human community, care about others, cooperate, and contribute in some meaningful way. Adler talks about having “an interest in the interests of others.”
As I look at our world today, there are an awful lot of places where social interest seems to be missing. So many of the people making headlines are out to advance only their own interests and increase their own wealth. This selfishness and the associated narrow view of the world is harming our society and fragmenting our communities.
The social interest that Adler advocates requires something different — selflessness, or even sacrifice in the service of a greater good. Adler was not a Christian, but some of these same themes show up in the Bible.
If you look at the lives of the saints, you don’t have to be a person of faith to recognize that there is something special going on in their lives. Their belief was that they were making sacrifices, living simply and even facing death, so that others could be saved. Sometimes their sacrifices cost them everything. In these stories of the saints we see powerful examples of people who lived for others.
“Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others” (Philippians 2: 4)
You don’t have to go that far back to see similar examples: Martin Luther King, Jr., John Lewis, first responders during 9/11, smokejumpers, and those elected officials who vote for unpopular bills are all making sacrifices for others. Think about some others: People who donate a kidney to a co-worker, mothers who get up in the middle of the night to care for a sick child, or volunteers at homeless shelters. These are the people that make the world go ‘round.
The next time you are feeling down or are looking for something to do, you might ask yourself one of these questions: Does this increase connection? Does this help life move forward? How can I be of service? The answers might just lead you into a better way of living, as your own social interest is developed.
