Life Is Good (if You Self-Actualize)
If you’ve ever felt that your life is just one step away from being less stale or more fulfilling, what step are you looking for? If you knew what the step is, would you try it? Well, the one thing you’re looking for is obvious, but it’s not something we tend to concentrate on much. In fact, 90% of people skip this step on a daily basis but don’t have to.
Sadly, this isn’t something we are taught to do in school or by our parents. It’s only because of studies in positive psychology that we now know this step is essential. This is a fantastic tool I will tell you about in this video. It’s something that anyone can harness and practice daily. To reveal it to you, it will take a bit of explanation. But first, here are a few examples of people who take this step daily.
Person #1 - Tim Ferris
Person #2 - Sorelle Amore
Person #3 - Buddhist Monks
What is it that these three people share in common? The answer is self-actualization. Now don’t get freaked out. Self-actualization is not a crazy, non-understandable concept that only a few people will ever understand. It’s actually a simple concept, especially if you think about it in this way:
Self-actualization is the process of becoming the best that you can be. It's about reaching your full potential and developing into the person you were meant to be. Everyone has their own unique talents and abilities, and self-actualization is about discovering and using those things to your best advantage. It's not about trying to be perfect or getting everything right all the time; it's about challenging yourself, growing, and learning as you go. Everyone has the potential for self-actualization, but it requires effort, commitment, and a willingness to learn and grow. When you reach self-actualization, you'll feel more fulfilled and satisfied with your life because you'll be doing what you're meant to do. Sounds pretty awesome right? But there are some obstacles.
The obstacles come from something called your Deficiency needs. This is Maslow’s Heirarchy of Needs. This is a theory developed by Abraham Maslow, a pioneer in positive psychology.
Maslow studied aspects of the human condition. He said, “It is as if freud supplied us the sick half of psychology and we must now fill it out with the healthy half”. Maslow was curious about the positive potential of people. Through his research he and his colleagues developed a theory that, on a daily basis humans have five needs. He displayed the five human needs in the shape of a… wait for it…. pyramid. The pyramid is called Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs.
This is Maslow’s theory in a graphic:
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
As you can see, each layer of the pyramid represents your specific daily needs as a human being. Your needs are broken down into two categories: D-needs and B-needs. Here’s how they work.
Levels one to four are your D-needs. A D-need is referred to as a deficiency need. These needs are parts of your daily survival. As you achieve each of your D-needs each day, your motivation to achieve them for that day decreases.
On the base layer of the pyramid are your physiological needs. They include things like daily food, water, air, shelter, Doritos, you know, the essentials. On the second layer lies your needs for safety and security. Everyone needs and likes to be safe from danger. You also like to be financially, healthy, and emotionally secure.
The third layer represents your need for love and belonging each day. Having family and friends who you care about and who care about you is the bomb! The fourth layer of the pyramid is your need for esteem. It's nice to have a daily feeling of accomplishment. This layer is about how esteem lifts you.
Remember, layers one to four are your daily Deficiency-needs.
The fifth layer is the ONLY layer that represents your B-needs or being needs. This layer represents your personal growth and self-actualization. It’s at the top of the pyramid. This level is about your need to reach your FULL POTENTIAL. There’s something magic about this layer. Because when you achieve some growth in your self-actualization, it doesn’t become a checkmark that indicates you’ve DONE IT. Instead, when you accomplish growth it INCREASES your desire to do it MORE.
So this will shed some light on why you don’t self-actualize daily. Your deficiency needs are taken care of instinctually each day by your internal desire to ensure that each of your deficiencies is met. Your Being needs are an essential part of your life too. They help you grow.
Maslow believed that there’s much more in store for you through life. Yes, you might consider yourself a regular person who goes through life daily just trying to make ends meet. But Maslow knew that there’s much more in store for you IF YOU CHOOSE IT. He said, “If you deliberately plan on being less than you are capable of being, then I warn you that you’ll be unhappy for the rest of your life.”
So if you’ve ever felt like you are one step away from feeling less stale and more fulfilled each day… that step is to self-actualize.