Why We All Want to Be More The drive for superiority is often misunderstood as the desire to be better than others, to dominate, to win at someone else’s expense. This is one possible expression, but for Adler, superiority striving is something more fundamental and less aggressive. It is the innate human drive to overcome limitations, to develop capabilities, to move from a state of helplessness toward a state of competence and mastery. Every person is born incomplete. You cannot walk, talk, feed yourself, or survive independently. The gap between what you are and what you could be creates tension,...