That’s entelechy for ya!

Here’s a little brain snack for you… I don’t know about you, but I love learning new words. Here’s one that crossed my desk recently: Entelechy. 

No, it’s not a new disease spread by lack of hand-washing.  It’s not a sound of a sticky hand being removed from the surface of a table.   It’s actually a great description of what most people I encounter are wanting to further explore and claim: their own internal motivation source for growth and development.

I’ve yet to put this word one in action in my day-to-day vocabulary without sounding like an airbag, but I love the definition: 

Entelechy (from Dictionary.com):

1. In the philosophy of Aristotle, the condition of a thing whose essence is fully realized; actuality.
2. In some philosophical systems, a vital force that directs an organism toward self-fulfillment.

Isn’t it cool that there is a word for this?  It made me grin, even if I’ll probably never say it out loud to a real person:  "Nice entelechy you got there, buddy!"

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What’s a word that captures what you are all about?
If you could make up a word, what would it be?