Carl Jung answers: What were the circumstances that induced you to work in the field of psychological research?

Emil A. Fischer: What were the circumstances that induced you to work in the field of psychological research?

Dr. Jung: Even as a small boy I noticed that people always did the contrary of what was said of them.

I found some of the people who were praised quite unbearable, whereas I thought others who were criticized quite pleasant.

I noticed the inconsistencies in the behavior of adults quite early on, because I spent my formative years in Basel, in a rather odd environment, which was frequented by people with a complicated psychic structure.

When I was barely four years old, someone said to me in an exaggeratedly childish tone: "Where do you think you are going with your rocking horse?"

I reacted quite the enfant terrible: "Mama, why does this man say such nonsense?" Even as a child I clearly felt that people did not say what was really in their minds.

Emil A. Fischer: Isn’t it possible for people to come to psychology in exactly the opposite way? Don’t some people feel attracted to psychology because they want to find an explanation for the chaos within themselves?

Dr. Jung: Certainly! If you take a critical look at people, you will find that some of them are involved in psy- chology only in order to demonstrate that "the other person" is even more neurotic.

However, in the kingdom of the blind the one-eyed man is king.

Emil A. Fischer: Isn’t nature particularly important for you to sustain and enhance your personal productivity?

Dr. Jung: Nature can help you only if you manage to get time for yourself.

You need to be able to relax in the garden, completely at peace, or to walk.

From time to time I need to stop, to just stand there. If someone were to ask me: What are you thinking of just now ?—I wouldn’t know.

I think unconsciously. Carl Jung, C.G. Jung Speaking: Interviews and Encounters, Pages 164-167