Imitation is the enemy of becoming yourself.

What it means

Copying others helps us fit in and learn fast. But it is the worst way to find out who you are. Borrowed style is not individuality.

The source

"Imitation is the enemy of becoming yourself." Carl Jung said it in Collected Papers (1917), ch. XV 'The Conception of the Unconscious'. Translated by Constance E. Long, 1917.

"Human beings have a capacity which is of the utmost use for purposes of collectivism and most prejudicial to individuation, and that is the capacity to _imitate_."

Constance E. Long, 1917, Collected Papers (1917), ch. XV 'The Conception of the Unconscious'. Text read at gutenberg.org.

Who said it

Carl Jung (1875–1961). Swiss psychiatrist who broke with Freud and founded analytical psychology. He mapped the persona, the shadow, the collective unconscious and the lifelong work of becoming yourself, which he called individuation. Our lines come only from his writings published before 1931, in our own translations from the German or in English translations of the time.

Questions

What does "Imitation is the enemy of becoming yourself." mean?

Copying others helps us fit in and learn fast. But it is the worst way to find out who you are. Borrowed style is not individuality.

Who said "Imitation is the enemy of becoming yourself."?

Carl Jung (1875–1961). Source: Collected Papers (1917), ch. XV 'The Conception of the Unconscious'.

What is the original wording?

Human beings have a capacity which is of the utmost use for purposes of collectivism and most prejudicial to individuation, and that is the capacity to _imitate_ (Constance E. Long, 1917). Translated by Constance E. Long, 1917.

Is "Imitation is the enemy of becoming yourself." on a shirt?

Yes. We print it to order on our tees in 7 illustrated looks, from $44, with free US shipping.

"Imitation is the enemy of becoming yourself." (Carl Jung, Collected Papers (1917), ch. XV 'The Conception of the Unconscious', trans. Constance E. Long, 1917). https://spartansurfers.com/quotes/imitation-is-the-enemy-of-becoming-yourself