The Engine of Human Motivation The term ‘inferiority complex’ has been so thoroughly absorbed into everyday language that most people use it without knowing where it came from or what it actually means. When someone says ‘he has an inferiority complex,’ they usually mean he is insecure or lacks confidence. That is close but incomplete. For Adler, the inferiority complex is not just low self-esteem. It is a specific psychological condition where feelings of inferiority become so overwhelming that they paralyze development rather than motivating it. Understanding the difference between normal inferiority feelings, which everyone has and which drive growth,...