According to Abraham Maslow, the ultimate life-goal of a person is to self-actualize. By this he means that we are born with a drive to fulfill our highest potentials.
He has created a Hierarchy of Needs. Needs, which he believes a person desires to fulfill in order to reach the acme of self-actualization.
On the lowest level are the physical needs. These are our needs for food, sex, etc. Next we have our safety needs: our need to be secure and free from harm. Then we have the love and belongingness needs, which is self-explanatory. Next is esteem needs: our need to be respected and admired. Then there are the cognitive needs and the aesthetic needs. The cognitive needs cover our desire for knowledge, while the aesthetic needs deal with our innate desire to experience and appreciate beauty.
At the topmost tier is the level self-actualization needs, the ultimate goal of human beings. Most people get stuck on the lower levels. They don't and can't get far, because either they have yet to exhaust the pleasure in the level that they are in, or they haven't found contentment and satisfaction on that level that they want more and more to the point that they don't want to leave.
For Maslow, only a handful ever really actualize. Abraham Lincoln, Albert Einstein, and Eleanor Roosevelt are the only few people whom he names who have self-actualized. For him, these people have these in common, among other traits:
- Independence from others' opinion and influence
- Spontaneity
- Acceptance of themselves
- An objective perception of reality
- They are task-centered
- They know how to appreciate the mundane
- They have deep and healthy interpersonal relationships
- They have compassion for humanity
- They do not have a rude or mean sense of humor.
With traits like those, it is easy to see how they have reached the acme in Maslow's standards. Most people may have become financially successful, but they may have severe personality flaws like being exploitative or that they like poking fun at others' shortcomings.
Self-actualization does not mean being perfect. Even Abe Lincoln was plagued with depression, according to history. But the key thing to these people is that they have achieved much and remained humble. They have inspired many, but think that they are but normal people.
Self-actualization is a process of increasingly becoming honest with yourself and with people around you, learning to be content where you are and living life to the fullest without resorting to drugs or hedonism. Life is meant to be lived with vigor and inspiration. Aim to self-actualize: the "getting there" part is quite fun too.
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