One More Idea From Carl Jung.

Author

Nick Osale
August 25, 2025

Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.

Carl Jung.

Is there any other philosopher who has painted the world of modern psychology more than Carl Jung? 

Certainly, there are others like Sigmund Freud and Abraham Maslow who offered impressive ideas.

But Jung cemented his place and had it not been for him, we would not be hearing of words such as introvert and extrovert.

He is surely among the influential figures in the field of psychology. And today in this email which I am building up on a past issue where we talked about 3 big ideas from Carl Jung, we are going to look at yet another big idea born by him.

Carl Jung dedicated his life to helping people study and understand their mental life so as to live a rich and full life just like the way he lived out his own life.

And the idea we are going to see today is the idea of the shadow. Jung first coined this idea which refers to the part of our minds that we don't see and don't even want anything to do with it. 

As Psychology Today contributor Jordan Florillo explains it, the shadow simply means our psychological blindspots. 

I see the shadow as the dark side present in every human regardless of race, gender, level of education and so on.

What makes up the shadow?

The shadow is made up of qualities that are not accepted by society. Qualities like aggression, selfishness, pettiness and envy.

Can the shadow be helpful and beneficial?

Learning and recognizing your shadow can make you feel negative emotions and even get embarrassed. But it is essential to pay attention to it and integrate it in our lives for holistic mental development.

Take for example aggression. If you are an aggressive person, you can get good results in your life if you channel the aggression in the right way. You can go hard in learning a skill or making money and end up with a much happier life after achieving your goals.

What happens if we do not acknowledge our shadow?

Since many people want nothing to do with their shadow, it is obvious for many of us to never make the conscious decision of investigating the shadow, integrating it and using it for our growth. But failing to acknowledge it often leads to a worse mental situation commonly referred to as projections.

For example, if you are a guy who does not want to recognize your sexual prowess, you will often think other fellas are sexually immoral or womanizers. You will often call them out for having multiple sexual partners and call them immoral yet in reality all they are doing is allowing women to feel good. If that is not a good or relatable example to you, failing to acknowledge our shadow leads to a psychological phenomena known as projection.

Projection is where we recognize the negatives in other people not because they are negative attributes but because they are also within us. And so for a dude to call another one a womanizer is simply himself acknowledging the womanizer in him.

Carl Jung warned that we must confront our shadows in order to achieve psychological maturity.

Confront and integrate your shadow.

The works of Jung exist to help us examine our mental lives for holistic growth. The idea of the shadow is not to be ignored because even if it is not socially and culturally unacceptable, it offers great insight on our mental growth. Do not ignore it.

THE END.

Nick.

P.S

I discovered a helpful resource that helps you begin the work of knowing your shadow and integrating it for holistic development that leads to life enjoyment. It is inspired by the works of one of the world's most competent biz and life coach on matters relating to the psyche. People pay this coach thousands of dollars just to know this hidden information and eventually bring a lot of light in their lives.

I have synthesised it for one or two years and have decided to offer it to you at a measly KES350.

If you are interested, reply to this email and I will send you the payment details.

P.S.S

I’ve added something new for those who enjoy Nick’s Letters.

They’re called Support Cards. Nick's letter support cards are small, one-time ways to show love for the work I share here.

Each card represents a contribution to this writing journey, and to the ideas I try to explore: self-employment, freedom, craft, clarity... and all the rough roads in between.

There are three support cards. A black one, a silver one and a gold one.

The black support card is low tier and you can buy it at only KES157.

The silver support card is mid tier and you can buy it for only KES387.

The gold support card is premium tier and you can buy it at only KES1061.

Are you going to walk with me? Payment is via mpesa or card.

Buy by clicking on the individual links below.