The Will To Power

“He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.” - Friedrich Nietzsche

“What a man can be, he must be. This need we may call self-actualization.” - Abraham Maslow

“Man’s task is to become conscious of the contents that press upward from the unconscious.” - Carl Jung

“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.” - Carl Jung

“The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes of mind.” - William James

The desire for political domination and the desire to subjugate others are not characteristics of the will to power. Nietzsche was referring to something much more personal and risky, the primary motivation behind every human action, the unseen force influencing every decision. It's the drive to develop, reach farther, overcome challenges that once made you hesitate and gain control over your inner turmoil and the outside world. This drive chooses you, not the other way around. Nietzsche's intuition that the brain determines its path before the mind ever creates its justifications is only supported by contemporary science. We take action before providing an explanation. Our unconscious will has already put on the actions and disguises that we refer to as motives or beliefs.

From a mind's eye perspective, what we refer to as neurosis or compulsion is simply the will to power redirected inward, corroding and eating away at the body and mind. Thus, the goal of therapy is to refocus the raw energy of that will toward more beneficial goals rather than suppress it. But Nietzsche took it a step further. To live a noble life means pushing yourself to go beyond the cozy role you have become accustomed to, not forcing authority on others. Self-overcoming is the ultimate manifestation of the will: burning off your old skin, surpassing your current condition, and becoming something more distinct, powerful, empowered, and alive than you were the day before. He thought this was the only real triumph.