Are you really a good person? Let’s talk about the shadow :)

A few days back, I posted about a shadow workbook (send me a DM if interested), and the response was incredible. I got many many messages from people asking, “What exactly is the shadow?” We had some deep chats, so I thought I’d explain it here..and share something that really shaped my view on this topic.

I once took a university course called The Psychology of Evil. It was a game-changer for me. The main takeaway was that we all like to believe we’re good people, that we’d never be capable of doing something truly harmful. But if the right elements align (stress, fear, power, anonymity) we’re capable of far more than we wud like to admit.

That’s exactly what Carl Jung believed. Our shadow is the terrifying part of ourselves we don’t want to face. But if we don’t acknowledge it, we risk acting it out unconsciously. The more we pretend it’s not there, the more control it has.

Real strength comes from confronting that darkness, not pretending it doesn’t exist. The question isn’t, “Am I capable of this?” but m “What can I do to stay aware and intentional?”

Thoughts?

A valuable addition from a commenter:

The shadow isn’t just about the darker elements that we suppress; it represents all parts of us we repress, even positive or neutral parts.

In practise, shadow work brings both the darker parts (e.g. aggression) and the lighter parts (e.g. untapped potential) into conscious awareness for integration.