The shadowshadow

The shadow is the sides of a person that they do not accept in themselves and therefore push into the unconscious. The concept was developed by Carl Gustav Jung. The shadow is not only negative; sometimes a repressed courage, a passion, or a talent may also have been driven there. These rejected sides do not disappear; they often show up again as the things that excessively disturb or excessively attract us in others. For Jung, to mature is not to destroy this shadow but to recognize it and take it into the self. In coaching, this can help the client look with curiosity at their own rejected sides behind their strong reactions.