Psychology of Self Actualization
I have heard it many times from many people that they are looking into modern science, including
multimodal psychology and quantum physics, searching for answers to spirituality. It is as if our
mind's evolution is not satisfied with what we don't understand. We have moved above the
imitation and ritualistic stages and into an era of thirst for understanding.
A more mature mind looks for answers to "why," and "how," rather than emulating rituals and
following others without knowing why. As we grow emotionally, mentally, and spiritually, we feel
less and less fulfilled and satisfied by acting like a sheep, following without knowing why. We don't
want to be slaves of the outside world but a follower of our internal feelings and signals.
When it comes to psychology and how it can help people in being connected to their core, there
seems to be this red flag. While people seem to have more and more of a thirst for using
psychological concepts as a tool for understanding themselves and their role in life, at the same
time some tend to run from it because they may think it is too knotty or analytical. But not all
psychological concepts are like that. Some are more comprehensible. For example the concept
of self actualization which was first defined by Maslow or other concepts like wholeness by Carl
Jung are gaining more appreciation by general public who are looking for root oriented answers
to daily challenges life throws at them and all of us.
Self actualization is in a way a process of self purification. Purifying one's self of the heavy and
harmful baggage we may carry with us throughout our lives. This baggage could be anything
from negative and out of balanced emotions, irrational thoughts and feelings, repressed
memories that have turned into blockages, and unattended needs.
We, humans have both physical and emotional needs and are motivated by satisfying these
needs in life. But many of us focus too much on desires and confuse them with needs. Our most
basic needs are inborn and have evolved over many years. It is only when the lower needs of
physical and emotional well-being are satisfied or compensated that we are able to take care of
the higher ones. Maslow created a hierarchy of needs which he as a pyramid with the more
primitive needs at the bottom and the more advanced ones on the top. This hierarchy is
portrayed as a pyramid of seven main levels, each with its own characteristics.
One must take note of the fact that how each person's needs are met, and at what stage of life
that need becomes a priority, is a personal factor that relates to the person's characteristics, the
environment s/he was raised in, and the predisposed factors s/he came into this world with.
However, it is each person's responsibility to become aware of these needs, so s/he is able to go
through each in a healthy way. But we all are innately capable to reach the top part of this
pyramid which is self actualization and self transformation. Whether we get there or not is not, in
most cases, a matter of capability but choice. Too many of us get distracted with spending a life
time fulfilling the basic needs and disregard that there might be something higher out there.
The pyramid of self growth that Maslow designed has initially four lower levels
(survival/physiological, security/safety, love/belonging/social acceptance, and two types of
self-esteem) which are grouped together as deficiency needs, and are all related, one way or
another, to physiological needs. The top level (self-actualization) is termed a growth need, and is
related to psychological needs. Later on in life Maslow added another level which was termed self
transformation which seems to be more of a spiritual need.
Going from the lowest level to the top, the first level of needs, survival and physiological, are
things like breathing, food, water, sleep, homeostatic which is the ability of an organism to
maintain an internal equilibrium, and excursion. The second level of needs, security and safety
needs, are things like security of body, employment, resources, morality, family, health, and
property. The third level of needs, social acceptance, love, and belonging needs, are things like
acceptance, friendship, family, and sexual intimacy. The fourth level of needs, self-esteem, is
things like confidence, achievement, and respect for and by others which can be divided into two
categories. The first one is a sense of self esteem which one achieves through interaction with
his or her environment and the accomplishments and the second one is a sense of self esteem
that the individual achieves internally and independent of his or her environment, an inner sense
of being content with one's self. The fifth level of needs, self-actualization, are morality,
spontaneity, creativity, productivity, lack of prejudice, and respect for others and nature.
The basic concept of the pyramid of self growth is that once the lower needs are met, the
individual can move up to the next higher need. Once an individual passes one level, that level's
needs will no longer be prioritized, though they may still exist. On the other hand, if a lower set of
needs is persistently unmet and neglected for a long time, the individual will temporarily
re-prioritize those needs by dropping down to that level until those lower needs are realistically
fulfilled again. Natural growth forces continuously generate upward movement in the hierarchy,
unless basic needs remain unmet indefinitely.
Some characteristics of self actualized people: they embrace the facts and realities of the world,
rather than denying or avoiding them, are spontaneous, creative, good problem-solvers who use
reason rather than emotion, focus on the solution, not the problem, and appreciate life in
general, with all its ups and downs, have a system of morality that is fully internalized and
independent of external authority, and are aware, open, honest, free, and trustworthy in every
aspect.
Author: Roya R. Rad, MA, PsyD
copyright@SelfKnowledgeBase.com
I have heard it many times from many people that they are looking into modern science, including
multimodal psychology and quantum physics, searching for answers to spirituality. It is as if our
mind's evolution is not satisfied with what we don't understand. We have moved above the
imitation and ritualistic stages and into an era of thirst for understanding.
A more mature mind looks for answers to "why," and "how," rather than emulating rituals and
following others without knowing why. As we grow emotionally, mentally, and spiritually, we feel
less and less fulfilled and satisfied by acting like a sheep, following without knowing why. We don't
want to be slaves of the outside world but a follower of our internal feelings and signals.
When it comes to psychology and how it can help people in being connected to their core, there
seems to be this red flag. While people seem to have more and more of a thirst for using
psychological concepts as a tool for understanding themselves and their role in life, at the same
time some tend to run from it because they may think it is too knotty or analytical. But not all
psychological concepts are like that. Some are more comprehensible. For example the concept
of self actualization which was first defined by Maslow or other concepts like wholeness by Carl
Jung are gaining more appreciation by general public who are looking for root oriented answers
to daily challenges life throws at them and all of us.
Self actualization is in a way a process of self purification. Purifying one's self of the heavy and
harmful baggage we may carry with us throughout our lives. This baggage could be anything
from negative and out of balanced emotions, irrational thoughts and feelings, repressed
memories that have turned into blockages, and unattended needs.
We, humans have both physical and emotional needs and are motivated by satisfying these
needs in life. But many of us focus too much on desires and confuse them with needs. Our most
basic needs are inborn and have evolved over many years. It is only when the lower needs of
physical and emotional well-being are satisfied or compensated that we are able to take care of
the higher ones. Maslow created a hierarchy of needs which he as a pyramid with the more
primitive needs at the bottom and the more advanced ones on the top. This hierarchy is
portrayed as a pyramid of seven main levels, each with its own characteristics.
One must take note of the fact that how each person's needs are met, and at what stage of life
that need becomes a priority, is a personal factor that relates to the person's characteristics, the
environment s/he was raised in, and the predisposed factors s/he came into this world with.
However, it is each person's responsibility to become aware of these needs, so s/he is able to go
through each in a healthy way. But we all are innately capable to reach the top part of this
pyramid which is self actualization and self transformation. Whether we get there or not is not, in
most cases, a matter of capability but choice. Too many of us get distracted with spending a life
time fulfilling the basic needs and disregard that there might be something higher out there.
The pyramid of self growth that Maslow designed has initially four lower levels
(survival/physiological, security/safety, love/belonging/social acceptance, and two types of
self-esteem) which are grouped together as deficiency needs, and are all related, one way or
another, to physiological needs. The top level (self-actualization) is termed a growth need, and is
related to psychological needs. Later on in life Maslow added another level which was termed self
transformation which seems to be more of a spiritual need.
Going from the lowest level to the top, the first level of needs, survival and physiological, are
things like breathing, food, water, sleep, homeostatic which is the ability of an organism to
maintain an internal equilibrium, and excursion. The second level of needs, security and safety
needs, are things like security of body, employment, resources, morality, family, health, and
property. The third level of needs, social acceptance, love, and belonging needs, are things like
acceptance, friendship, family, and sexual intimacy. The fourth level of needs, self-esteem, is
things like confidence, achievement, and respect for and by others which can be divided into two
categories. The first one is a sense of self esteem which one achieves through interaction with
his or her environment and the accomplishments and the second one is a sense of self esteem
that the individual achieves internally and independent of his or her environment, an inner sense
of being content with one's self. The fifth level of needs, self-actualization, are morality,
spontaneity, creativity, productivity, lack of prejudice, and respect for others and nature.
The basic concept of the pyramid of self growth is that once the lower needs are met, the
individual can move up to the next higher need. Once an individual passes one level, that level's
needs will no longer be prioritized, though they may still exist. On the other hand, if a lower set of
needs is persistently unmet and neglected for a long time, the individual will temporarily
re-prioritize those needs by dropping down to that level until those lower needs are realistically
fulfilled again. Natural growth forces continuously generate upward movement in the hierarchy,
unless basic needs remain unmet indefinitely.
Some characteristics of self actualized people: they embrace the facts and realities of the world,
rather than denying or avoiding them, are spontaneous, creative, good problem-solvers who use
reason rather than emotion, focus on the solution, not the problem, and appreciate life in
general, with all its ups and downs, have a system of morality that is fully internalized and
independent of external authority, and are aware, open, honest, free, and trustworthy in every
aspect.
Author: Roya R. Rad, MA, PsyD
copyright@SelfKnowledgeBase.com
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