Have you ever felt the need to eat food, need to work for money, need to talk to friends, need to be appreciated for the work you have done, need to eat, and so on the cycle continues.
Recently, I came across a theory, which opines that the above needs and more are not a vicious cycle but a hierarchy – steps that start with more cardinal needs, culminating in self-actualization.
I happened to read Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs that posits all humans have hierarchy of needs ranging from physiological to psychological wants. The most basic ones are need to eat, drink, and breathe. Maslow claims that only when these wants are met, the needs of human beings are elevated to the next level – those related to financial and health safety. The next stage involves social needs – the desire for love, acceptance, and belonging. Once we cross this level, we arrive at the esteem needs, where we supposedly crave for others appreciation and respect. Finally, we reach the self-actualization stage where others opinions matter less and we focus on reaching our full potential. There are other stages added later, but we will stick to these for now.
There are several detractors of this theory. For instance, there are some who believe needs do not follow a hierarchy. Meanwhile, some consider testing Maslow’s hypotheses is easier said than done. Also, people disagree with Maslow’s opinion that without fulfilling needs of a particular stage, it is impossible to move on to the next stage.
Anyway, after reading, I got to thinking about which stage I was in (definitely not in self-actualization, though want to move there). I realized that most of us are not specifically in one particular stage at a time, but in a combination of many. For instance, when we are kids, we are usually in stage 1, 3 and 4 – craving for junk food (food nevertheless 😉), acceptance from friends, and appreciation from parents and teachers. As we grow, we are simultaneously in all four stages – we worry about making ends meet, gaining financial stability, getting loving partners, and earning the respect of bosses and colleagues.
Where hierarchy plays a role, is in the order in which we satisfy these needs. Before now, I was usually caught up in trying to meet all the needs together or in no particular order and ended up frustrated. Now, I think if we go in the order of needs – physiological first and gradually moving to more psychological ones, what would happen? Filling your stomach with food and drink would give you strength to tackle other wants. Then, we can move to saving money or buying a good health insurance coverage. Now that we don’t have to worry about what you would eat or whether you will have enough money, we have the energy to take on next challenges – figuring out how to build long lasting relationships and earn respect. And finally, once we are saturated with enough food, money, and people, we reach a stage where we look forward to pursue our purpose.
I believe it is also difficult to move on from a stage without fulfilling all the needs. We will not think about chatting with friends when you are badly hungry. But, that should not mean we can’t aim for self-actualization when we don’t have people who care for us or appreciate us. However, understanding Maslow’s hierarchy of needs helps figure out where in life we are stuck and where we want to end up. We can then consciously sort out the problems instead of getting frustrated and figure out ways to move on in case there are still some things that would not work.
What do you think?
Serene Times 