that they have the power to do or to be whatever they desire. Of course, for
many this freedom can be frightening.
The Here and Now
Think about the last time you walked to a class or some other appointment.Perhaps you spent the time thinking about what you did last weekend or ru-
minating over an embarrassing incident. Maybe you rehearsed something you
wanted to say to someone or thought about how nice it would be to get through
this week. A humanistic psychologist might say that what you really did was to
lose 10 minutes. You failed to experience fully the 10 minutes that life handed
you. You could have enjoyed the fresh air, appreciated the blue sky, or learnedsomething from observing or talking with other people.
According to the humanistic perspective, we can ’t become fully function-
ing individuals until we learn to live our lives as they happen. Some reflectionon the past or future can be helpful, but most people spend far too much time
thinking about events that have already happened or planning those that
might. Time spent on these activities is time lost, for you can live life fullyonly if you live it in the here and now.
A popular poster reminds us, “Today Is the First Day of the Rest of Your
Life.”This phrase could well have been coined by a humanistic psychologist.
The humanistic view maintains that we need not be victims of our past.
Certainly our past experiences shape and influence who we are and how we
behave. But these experiences should not dictate what we can become.
People do not need to remain shy and unassertive just because they “have al-
ways been that way. ”You do not have to remain in an unhappy relationship
simply because you don’ t know what else to do. Your past has guided you to
where you are today, but it is not an anchor.
The Phenomenology of the Individual
No one knows you better than yourself. This observation is a cornerstone of
humanistic psychology. Humanistic psychologists argue that it ’s absurd for
therapists to listen to clients, decide what their problems are, and force them
to accept the therapist ’s interpretation of what should be changed and how it
should be changed. Instead, humanistic therapists try to understand where cli-
ents are “coming from ”and provide what clients need to help themselves.
Some people find this approach to therapy a bit puzzling at first. What
about people incapable of understanding their problems? And if the answerswere easy and therapy the client ’s job anyway, why would anyone need to see a
psychotherapist? The reply is that, whereas some people may not be able to un-derstand the source of their difficulties right now, the therapist also has no accessto this information. During the course of therapy, clients come to understand
themselves and develop an appropriate strategy for resolving their problems.
You may have had a similar experience when dealing with personal issues.Friends offer advice, but allowing someone else to decide what is best for you is
unsatisfying and probably ineffective. If you are like many people, it was only
when you weighed the advice of others and came to a decision on your ownthat you were able to resolve the problem.278 CHAPTER 11 The Humanistic Approach