--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We must interpret a bad temper as a sign…" description: "\"We must interpret a bad temper as a sign of inferiority.\" — Alfred Adler" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2aa/alfred-adler-4921_bad-temper_we-must-interpret-a-bad-temper-as-a-sign_2676560.jpg" --- # We must interpret a bad temper as a sign of inferiority. ![“We must interpret a bad temper as a sign of inferiority.” quote by Alfred Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2aa/alfred-adler-4921_bad-temper_we-must-interpret-a-bad-temper-as-a-sign_2676560.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2aa/alfred-adler-4921_bad-temper_we-must-interpret-a-bad-temper-as-a-sign_2676560.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2aa/alfred-adler-4921_bad-temper_we-must-interpret-a-bad-temper-as-a-sign_2676560.jpg) > “We must interpret a bad temper as a sign of inferiority.” [Alfred Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-adler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A temper may reveal underlying feelings of inferiority, suggesting deeper self‑esteem issues. **In simple terms:** Bad temper shows insecurity. Key Takeaway Address self‑esteem to reduce anger. Themes psychology self‑esteem behavior Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - personal therapy - conflict resolution - parenting challenges Key Concepts inferiority complex emotional regulation Questions to Reflect On - What insecurities drive your anger? - How can you build confidence? A Different Perspective Temper may mask other problems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bad temper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-temper/) [Inferiority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inferiority/) [Temper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/temper/) ## Related quotes > [“In man or fish, wriggling is a sign of inferiority.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/in-man-or-fish-wriggling-is-a-sign-of-inferiority/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [Strutting and preening is, in fact, the surest sign of an inferiority complex.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/strutting-and-preening-is-in-fact-the-surest-sign-of-an-inferiority/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) > [The Spaniards are perfectly right to govern these barbarians of the New World and adjacent islands; they are in prudence, ingenuity, virtue, and humanity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-gines-de-sepulveda/the-spaniards-are-perfectly-right-to-govern-these-barbarians-of-the/) Juan Gines de Sepulveda > [I truly thought I might hurt that man," he said, "very badly." "I didn't know you were capable of such bad temper." "Apparently I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-cashore/i-truly-thought-i-might-hurt-that-man-he-said-very-badly-i-didn-t/) [Kristin Cashore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-cashore/) > [“I have a problem with anger. I have a bad temper. I have trouble controlling it, and when I lose my temper I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvain-reynard/i-have-a-problem-with-anger-i-have-a-bad-temper-i-have-trouble/) [Sylvain Reynard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvain-reynard/) > [Probably I have more phobias, fear and eccentricities than I would care to admit. I don't think I'm in danger of losing my mind,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-o-hare/probably-i-have-more-phobias-fear-and-eccentricities-than-i-would/) [Denis O'Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-o-hare/) > [Bad temper is its own safety valve. He who can bark does not bite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/bad-temper-is-its-own-safety-valve-he-who-can-bark-does-not-bite/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [I'm half Scotch-Irish on both sides, and when I lose my temper-brother, I go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-j-perelman/i-m-half-scotch-irish-on-both-sides-and-when-i-lose-my-temper-brother/) [S. J. Perelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-j-perelman/) > [My mother is a strong person. She's funny but volatile, with a pretty bad temper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grayson-perry/my-mother-is-a-strong-person-she-s-funny-but-volatile-with-a-pretty/) [Grayson Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grayson-perry/) > [A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solomon/a-gentle-answer-turns-away-wrath-but-a-harsh-word-stirs-up-anger/) [Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solomon/) > [I keep my good health by having a very bad temper, kept under good control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/i-keep-my-good-health-by-having-a-very-bad-temper-kept-under-good/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [“You have a bad temper, Mr. Morrison.” “Get the hell off me,” Tate snarled through his teeth. “I’m not on you.” “Yes, you fucking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-frank/you-have-a-bad-temper-mr-morrison-get-the-hell-off-me-tate-snarled/) [Ella Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-frank/) > [For me it is really important to have a story with blood in the veins, there are bad tempers and good tempers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-ness/for-me-it-is-really-important-to-have-a-story-with-blood-in-the-veins/) [Patrick Ness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-ness/) > [Bad temper is its own scourge. Few things are more bitter than to feel bitter. A man's venom poisons himself more than his victim.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-buxton/bad-temper-is-its-own-scourge-few-things-are-more-bitter-than-to-feel/) [Charles Buxton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-buxton/) > [Nah, I don't have a bad temper. I just have a quick reaction to bullshit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nah-i-don-t-have-a-bad-temper-i-just-have-a-quick-reaction-to-bullshit/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Alfred Adler > [Play is a child's work and this is not a trivial pursuit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-adler/play-is-a-child-s-work-and-this-is-not-a-trivial-pursuit/) [Alfred Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-adler/) > [There is a law that man should love his neighbor as himself. In a few hundred years it should be as natural to mankind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-adler/there-is-a-law-that-man-should-love-his-neighbor-as-himself-in-a-few/) [Alfred Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-adler/) > [Nobody adopts antisocial behaviour unless they fear that they will fail if they remain on the social side of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-adler/nobody-adopts-antisocial-behaviour-unless-they-fear-that-they-will/) [Alfred Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-adler/) > [What person, confined in a small room with nothing but a tea-cosy, will not eventually put the tea-cosy on their head?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-adler/what-person-confined-in-a-small-room-with-nothing-but-a-tea-cosy-will/) [Alfred Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-adler/) > [I am grateful for the idea that has used me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-adler/i-am-grateful-for-the-idea-that-has-used-me/) [Alfred Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-adler/) > [The feeling of inferiority rules the mental life and can be clearly recognized in the sense of incompleteness and un-fulfillment, and in the uninterrupted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-adler/the-feeling-of-inferiority-rules-the-mental-life-and-can-be-clearly/) [Alfred Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-adler/) > [Far more unwaveringly, the neurotic keeps before his eye his God, his idol, his ideal of personality and clings to his guiding principle, losing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-adler/far-more-unwaveringly-the-neurotic-keeps-before-his-eye-his-god-his/) [Alfred Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-adler/) > [The test of one's behavior pattern is their relationship to society, relationship to work and relationship to sex.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-adler/the-test-of-one-s-behavior-pattern-is-their-relationship-to-society/) [Alfred Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-adler/) > [There are thousands of degrees and variations, but it is always clearly the attitude of a person who finds his superiority in solving the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-adler/there-are-thousands-of-degrees-and-variations-but-it-is-always/) [Alfred Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-adler/) > [You can be healed of depression if every day you begin the first thing in the morning to consider how you will bring a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-adler/you-can-be-healed-of-depression-if-every-day-you-begin-the-first/) [Alfred Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-adler/) > [It is very obvious that we are not influenced by "facts" but by our interpretation of the facts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-adler/it-is-very-obvious-that-we-are-not-influenced-by-facts-but-by-our/) [Alfred Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-adler/) > [In God's nature, religious mankind perceives the way to height. In His call it hears again the innate voice of life which must have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-adler/in-god-s-nature-religious-mankind-perceives-the-way-to-height-in-his/) [Alfred Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-adler/) > [Man knows much more than he understands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-adler/man-knows-much-more-than-he-understands/) [Alfred Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-adler/) > [Every pampered child becomes a hated child… There is no greater evil than the pampering of children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-adler/every-pampered-child-becomes-a-hated-child-there-is-no-greater-evil/) [Alfred Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-adler/) > [Every neurotic is partly in the right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-adler/every-neurotic-is-partly-in-the-right/) [Alfred Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-adler/) [Explore all 105 Alfred Adler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-adler/) ## More Bad temper quotes > [“To use strong language, she thought, was a sign of bad temper and lack of concern for others. Such people were not clever or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/to-use-strong-language-she-thought-was-a-sign-of-bad-temper-and-lack/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [If a man is crossing the river and an empty boat collides with his skiff, even though he is a bad tempered man he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/if-a-man-is-crossing-the-river-and-an-empty-boat-collides-with-his/) [Zhuangzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/) > [Truths of life¦ The most beautiful day: Today The easiest thing: Equivocate The biggest obstacle: Fear The gravest error: give up, to despair The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/truths-of-life-the-most-beautiful-day-today-the-easiest-thing/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“For example, if a man with a bad temper has been provoked, then he will surely start shouting or start a fight. You could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-t-rivers/for-example-if-a-man-with-a-bad-temper-has-been-provoked-then-he-will/) Clarence T. Rivers > [A man of bad character punishes his own soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-ghazali/a-man-of-bad-character-punishes-his-own-soul/) [Al-Ghazali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-ghazali/) > [Nah, I don't have a bad temper. I just have a quick reaction to bullshit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nah-i-don-t-have-a-bad-temper-i-just-have-a-quick-reaction-to-bullshit/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“So long as I perceive the world as hostile, I remain linked to it: \*I am not crazy\*. But sometimes, once my bad temper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/so-long-as-i-perceive-the-world-as-hostile-i-remain-linked-to-it-i-am/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [“He was very interested in everything that lay to the North because no one ever went that way and he was never allowed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/he-was-very-interested-in-everything-that-lay-to-the-north-because-no/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [Bad temper is its own scourge. Few things are more bitter than to feel bitter. A man's venom poisons himself more than his victim.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-buxton/bad-temper-is-its-own-scourge-few-things-are-more-bitter-than-to-feel/) [Charles Buxton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-buxton/) > [“The truth is that I will always need you more than you need me. It’s also the truth that I’m not a good bet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-morton/the-truth-is-that-i-will-always-need-you-more-than-you-need-me-it-s/) [Lily Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-morton/) > [“If a man crosses a river and an empty boat collides with his own skiff, Even though he be bad tempered man He will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuang-tzu-2/if-a-man-crosses-a-river-and-an-empty-boat-collides-with-his-own/) Chuang-Tzu > [Clary," Jace said again. "You know: short, redheaded, bad temper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/clary-jace-said-again-you-know-short-redheaded-bad-temper/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [“I do think your brother grows more peculiar every day,' I complain to Edward when he comes to my rooms in Whitehall Palace to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippa-gregory/i-do-think-your-brother-grows-more-peculiar-every-day-i-complain-to/) [Philippa Gregory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippa-gregory/) > [For me it is really important to have a story with blood in the veins, there are bad tempers and good tempers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-ness/for-me-it-is-really-important-to-have-a-story-with-blood-in-the-veins/) [Patrick Ness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-ness/) > [“You have a bad temper, Mr. Morrison.” “Get the hell off me,” Tate snarled through his teeth. “I’m not on you.” “Yes, you fucking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-frank/you-have-a-bad-temper-mr-morrison-get-the-hell-off-me-tate-snarled/) [Ella Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-frank/) [Browse all 93 Bad temper quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-temper/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We must interpret a bad temper as a sign of inferiority.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alfred Adler" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-adler/we-must-interpret-a-bad-temper-as-a-sign-of-inferiority/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bad temper" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-adler/we-must-interpret-a-bad-temper-as-a-sign-of-inferiority/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2aa/alfred-adler-4921_bad-temper_we-must-interpret-a-bad-temper-as-a-sign_2676560.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2aa/alfred-adler-4921_bad-temper_we-must-interpret-a-bad-temper-as-a-sign_2676560.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2aa/alfred-adler-4921_bad-temper_we-must-interpret-a-bad-temper-as-a-sign_2676560.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We must interpret a bad temper as a sign of inferiority.” — Alfred Adler", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alfred Adler", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-adler/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We must interpret a bad temper...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-adler/we-must-interpret-a-bad-temper-as-a-sign-of-inferiority/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-adler/we-must-interpret-a-bad-temper-as-a-sign-of-inferiority/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```