Arohi Sachar, 22nd August 2020
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is one of the most compelling and prominent theories in the subject of Psychology, it explains the idea of motivation and also gives a deeper insight into human emotions and desires. Maslow designed a pyramid which had five levels. If your needs of one level are satisfied, you move to a higher one and eventually reach the top. It starts with ‘Basic physiological Needs’ which consists of food,shelter,sleep- things we need for survival. If these needs are met, we move to the second stage which is ‘Safety and security.’ This encompasses wider feelings of personal security, health,employment,property-anything that brings a sense of stability.The third and fourth stages are to do with our social needs. “Love and belongingness” consists of friendship,intimacy,family and all other relationships.‘Esteem needs’ on the other hand are to do with respect, self esteem, recognition,status- finding your place in the society.
Once all of these are met and you are satisfied with the levels you have reached, we move to the last and final stage of self actualization- becoming your best self.
A few months ago while explaining this theory to some people, one of them said, “but I am already self actualized- I have become the best version of myself” The thing about self actualization is, if you feel like you’ve reached that level, you probably have not. Self actualization is the end goal. I don’t think most of us realise how truly difficult it is to be a fully functioning person, to be the most one can actually be. Saying you are self actualized means you have understood your full potential and grown into the best you can. How can we possibly limit that to a level? I think it’s time we change the perception of self actualization.
It would be a great thing if all the people who thought they were self-actualized really were, and Maslow would agree with that. However, the problem is that it was rather unlikely that they all had managed to actually reach self-actualization given how few people Maslow thought would ever make it there. According to him, less than 1% of the people reach self actualization. Infact, Maslow didn’t reach this point either.
Another thing most people fail to understand is the difference between self expression and self actualization. Self-actualization is the process of becoming who you are. Not actualizing who you think you are or who you wish you were. They may seem the same but on self reflection, you’ll see clear differences.
One of the most common criticisms of Maslow’s conception of self-actualization is that it appears to be limited to those who have had good fortune in their lives. Considering his hierarchy of needs, the lowest level is physical needs that must be met and the second level includes the security of the supply of the things that fill those needs. If you don’t have a fair amount of financial security you aren’t going to get past level two, let alone to self-actualization. We tend to overlook how difficult that is as well. Most of us are usually stuck on social needs, giving maximum emphasis to building relationships and our own prestige.
That takes the majority of our life and when we’re actually content enough to move to self actualization, it’s too late.
Satisfying all needs constantly is not the only thing we have to do. We need to be open to making ourselves psychologically vulnerable, be willing to come to terms with the more painful aspects of yourself, and be consistently striving for psychological growth. Self actualization is a noble goal. Every year hundreds of books are sold, talks are given and people are expected to change parts of themselves to be the best versions. This process is entirely subjective. Different for different people. Now in theory there are some characteristics that constitute a fully functioning person-a growing openness to explore,creativity,reliability, constructiveness and a general positive outlook to life but again, even if you have all these, even if they’re in abundance, are you truly your best self? You become the most creative you can be, you are open to explore all opportunities but does that make you self actualized? I think the main problem stems from how we expect a fully functioning person to stay at the peak of life, forever.
To change the perception of self actualization is of course, not an easy task especially considering how millions of people around the world are consciously striving to meet that goal. However, instead of trying to be our best selves, I think we should try and make an environment such that each of us can grow into what we want to be and that's not necessarily a self actualized individual. When everyone is given equal opportunities to grow, equal love, respect and prestige and equal admiration for achieving the same goals, we can build a society where we are all one step closer to becoming, if not their best, but their ideal self. They don’t have to tick every category of a fully functioning person. They don’t have to always be optimistic or take on every challenge thrown at them. Sometimes they can accept failure, sometimes they can trust someone else with judgements-That’s where other people start to play a role. When you create an environment for everyone to thrive,there is collective growth, collective movement one step higher on Maslow’s pyramid. Helping them achieve what they want to achieve and having unconditional positive regard for everyone around you is what I believe is truly real self actualization.
There’s no point running behind an individual goal when the people you love aren’t able to reach even the third or the fourth stage of Maslow’s hierarchy. Take them along, help them cross stages and who knows, maybe in the end you’ll all become your best selves, together.
Far beyond our ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing there is a field. I'll meet you there. When the soul lies down in that grass and the world is too full to talk about, I’ll meet you there. -Rumi
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