How to be happy though human / by W. Béran Wolfe.
293/400

from the assumption of mature obligations and responsi¬ bilities, and seeks to project the inevitable solution of these problems into the indefinite future by indecision, doubt, procrastination, hesitation, tjme-killing, worry, solicitude over details, the cult of perfection in details, conflict, and similar devices. Conflict, indeed, is the key¬ note of the hesitation neuroses. The conflict is always a conflict between “ good ” and “ bad ”, between the desire to remain an infantile irresponsible egoist and the desire to taste the fruit of maturity by assuming the obligations of adult life. Conflict, however, is a psycho¬ logical paradox. It cannot exist unless we assume that human beings are not unitary organisms, but vague colonies of good and bad demons. If this were the truth we could never predict the conduct of any human being by understanding the pattern of his life. But human conduct is predictable, as dramatists, poets, prophets, philosophers, business men and generals have known since time immemorial. It remains that conflict, real as it may seem to the hesitation neurotic, is a symptom of a neurosis and not an objective but a subjective reality. In this type of neurosis the individual demands excessive guarantees of safety. His principle is “ Safety first ”, and because he refuses to risk anything, he gains nothing. The anxiety neurosis is an excellent example of this dilatory strategy. Spoiled and dependent younger children are likely to be found in this group. The hesitation neurotic hopes that if he waits long enough, the obstacle will disappear or some deus ex machina will appear to solve it for him as his problems were solved for him in childhood by a fond and solicitous parent. If he procrastinates long enough it actually becomes too late to do anything. He trains himself by dreaming of the world as if it were some terrifying and death-dealing holocaust. He is afraid to live, yet, being an egoist, afraid also to die. He would like to believe in a second chance after death. Neurotics of this type are usually worshippers of immortality and often drift into spiritualism. They