Maslow’s Hierarchy
For The 21st Century
Stanley F. Bronstein
Copyright 2011
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Chapter 1
Maslow’s Hierarchy Revisited
What Is Necessary To Change A Person
Is To Change His Awareness Of Himself
(Abraham Maslow)
Necessary – Being essential, indispensable, or requisite. Such that it must exist if a given event is to occur or a given thing is to exist.
Change – To make the form, nature, content, future course, etc., of something different from what it is or from what it would be if left alone. To transform or convert.
Person – A human being, whether man, woman or child. A human being as distinguished from an animal or thing. The actual self or individual personality of a human being.
Awareness – Having knowledge; conscious; cognizant. Informed; alert; knowledgeable.
Self – A person or thing referred to with respect to complete individuality. A person’s nature, character, etc.
Maslow’s Ideas In Today’s World
Personally, I believe that Abraham Maslow’s ideas are more relevant than ever.
FINALLY, FINALLY, FINALLY, as a result of the current world economic crisis, people are beginning to change their actions.
Prior to the Crisis – While I realize this is a sweeping generalization, people tended to be greedier and were primarily interested in material possessions. They moved further up the Maslow “pyramid” and were seeking higher goals. However, were they really doing that? I’m not so sure. I think many people were simply trying to consume more and more and acquire more and more, thinking that would lead them to self-actualization. Instead, it got them into trouble.
As a Result of the Crisis – People are beginning to move lower down the Maslow “pyramid”. They are concerned with survival. To put it plainly, I’m basically recommending to all of my clients that they enter what I call “survival mode”. The object is to survive. Those who survive will be alive to prosper once this mess begins to straighten itself out.
A Return To Values
The current economic situation is forcing people to return to their values, their CORE values.
If it’s not important ON A CORE LEVEL, people no longer are interested.
We’re going to focus more on Maslow’s Hierachy in the near future, all in the hopes of reaching conclusions as to what is important and what isn’t.
Chapter 2
Physiological Needs
The Goal Of Physiological Research Is Functional Nature
(Walter Rudolf Hess)
Goal – The result or achievement toward which effort is directed; aim; end.
Physiological – Consistent with the normal functioning of an organism. Physiology is the branch of biology dealing with the functions and activities of living organisms and their parts, including all physical and chemical processes.
Research – Diligent and systematic inquiry or investigation into a subject in order to discover or revise facts, theories, applications, etc.
Functional – The purpose for which something is designed or exists; its role. The action for which a person or thing is particularly fitted or employed.
Nature – The elements of the natural world. The sum total of the forces at work throughout the universe. The biological functions or the urges to satisfy their requirements.
As I said in the previous chapter, Abraham Maslow’s ideas are more relevant than ever.
Colin Wilson, a philosopher and writer of crime and fiction books, has contended that it would not be until the 21st century that Abraham Maslow’s work would be truly appreciated.
Well, here we are. We’re now well into the 21st century and we’re showing no signs of retreating.
It is my contention that Maslow’s work was “spot-on” and we would all do very well to pay attention to his ideas.
The Most Basic Usually Comes First
Maslow contended that until our basic physiological needs were met, human beings aren’t really able to focus on meeting their higher order needs, such as safety, love, esteem and self-actualization.
Personally, I believe we’re all capable of working on fulfilling our needs in all these areas at the same time.
So in other words, I’m not so sure Maslow was suggesting that ALL lower needs must be met in order to begin fulfilling higher needs.
I simply think he was suggesting that the basic, lower level needs come first and that until they are met, so much of our time will be devoted toward the fulfillment of those basic needs that we won’t have much time left over to work on the others.
The Foundation Upon Which All Our Activities Are Based
In other words, our fulfillment of our physiological needs is the “foundation” upon which all of our activities are based.
If we don’t breathe, we die.
If we don’t have food, we die.
If we don’t have water, we die.
If we don’t have sex, our species does not reproduce itself, so it will die.
If our internal systems get out of balance (i.e. lack of homeostasis), we die.
If we don’t get rid of the waste products produced from our activities, we die.
As I mentioned earlier in this chapter, I believe most human beings are constantly working, simultaneously, to fulfill their needs on multiple levels of the pyramid.
Here’s the catch:
The higher up the pyramid you want to get, the more important the lower levels are to your success or failure.
That’s why I think Maslow was a genius when he came up with the pyramid concept. Not only did he get his points across verbally, but he also got them across visually.
His pyramid says it all.
Chapter 3
Safety Needs
The fact is that people are good, if only their fundamental wishes are satisfied, their wish for affection and security. Give people affection and security, and they will give affection and be secure in their feelings and their behavior.
(Abraham Maslow)
Fact – Something that actually exists; reality; truth.
Good – Morally excellent; virtuous; righteous; pious. Satisfactory in quality, quantity, or degree. Of high quality.
Only – Solely; exclusively.
Fundamental – Of, pertaining to, or affecting the foundation or basis. A basic principle, rule, law or the like that serves as the groundwork of a system.
Wishes – A desire, longing, or strong inclination for a specific thing.
Satisfied - To fulfill the desires, expections, needs or demands of a person, the mind, etc. To put an end to a desire, want, need, etc.
Affection – Fond attachment, devotion or love. Emotion, feeling, sentiment. The emotional realm of love.
Security – Freedom from danger, risk, etc. Freedom from care, anxiety, or doubt; well founded confidence. Freedom from cares or wants.
Feeling(s) – A consciousness or vague awareness. An emotion or emotional perception or attitude.
Behavior – Manner or behaving or acting. The action or reaction of any material under given circumstances.
In light of today’s economic / world situation, I think we should all pay more attention to Abraham Maslow’s ideas than ever before.
Safety Is Just One Small Step Ahead Of Our Most Basic Needs
I guess that after we get through worrying about breathing, eating, drinking, reproducing, sleeping, peeing and pooping, we’re ready for something else.
Abraham Maslow apparently agreed.
If you look back, those functions are indeed the most basic needs of any species, not just homo sapiens.
Next up is Security / Safety.
Security / Safety is knowing that you’re out of danger. It’s knowing that you’re taken care of, no matter what.
I guess that after our most basic needs are met, we want to know we’re being taken care of.
Based upon my experiences, I would have to agree with this. I know that just from a recent trip to California in an area where I observed a large homeless population, there #1 issue seemed to be breathing, eating, drinking, reproducing, sleeping, peeing and pooping and security be damned.
In little over 1 hour, my wife and I observed homeless persons doing pretty much all of those things (except for reproducing), out in the open, in public areas.
One might say they could be arrested and thrown in jail for peeing and pooping in public, yet for some reason that was not their concern.
This is where Maslow was RIGHT ! The answer is simple. If you’ve gotta go, you’ve gotta go. Never mind the fact that you’re homeless and don’t have any better alternatives.
These homeless people were obviously willing to risk their security (not being arrested) to do something as simple as going to the bathroom. I don’t know about you, but personally I can’t blame them.
So What’s My Point?
My point is not to criticize the behavior of the homeless.
My point is to learn from them.
Because of unfortunate circumstances, they have been reduced to lower levels where they must work hard to just meet their basic needs.
And as Maslow observed, their basic needs were the physiological needs of their body.
It was ONLY AFTER THOSE NEEDS WERE MET, that the homeless began to do other things, such as look for shelter and such.
Hopefully they found it.
Chapter 4
The Need For Love And Belonging
The most important thing in life
is to learn how to give out love,
and to let it come in.
(Morrie Schwartz)
Most – The greatest quantity, amount or degree. The ultimate in something.
Important – Entitled to more than ordinary consideration or notice. Of considerable influence or authority. Of much or great significance or consequence.
Life – A corresponding state, existence or principle of existence conceived of as belonging to the soul. The general or universal condition of human existence.
Learn – To acquire knowledge of or skill in by study, instruction or experience. To become informed or acquainted with.
Give – To present voluntarily and without expecting compensation. To grant to someone. To impart or communicate. To set forth or show.
Love – A profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person. A feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection. Affectionate concern for the well-being of others.
Let – To allow or permit. To allow to pass, go or come.
Love Is A Two Way Street
The best way to get love is to give love. Unfortunately, not everyone realizes this.
Here’s why I think that’s the case.
As Morrie Schwartz pointed out in his quote, love is something that has to be LEARNED.
What’s the best way to learn about love? To receive it, that’s how.
We have to be shown love in order to know how to give love.
Some parents do an excellent job of teaching that to their children, from the very beginning. However, all too many people weren’t shown enough love when they were growing up, or the love they were given HAD STRINGS ATTACHED.
Unconditional Love
True love is unconditional. That’s not always a very easy thing to do though. Typically, most of the unconditional love we see in the world is between parents and their children.
Some examples are mothers who still love their sons, even after they’ve found out that he’s a murderer. These mothers will stick by their sons and insist all along the way that their “little boy” couldn’t possibly have hurt anybody.
Another example is the love that people feel to their “God”. Many religions teach that as long as you love your “God” unconditionally, you will be loved back in the same manner.
I’m talking about something a little different here.
I’m talking about how to love your fellow many unconditionally. THAT’S THE TOUGH ONE.
To be truthful, I’m not so sure I’ll EVER be able to love ALL my fellow human beings unconditionally. Some people seem to be able to do that (people like Mother Teresa), but I don’t think very many people are very successful in that area.
An Intermediate Step
Instead of focusing on unconditionally loving ALL of our fellow human beings, let’s focus on trying to unconditionally love those who are around us the most.
Our parents;
Our significant others;
Our children;
Our co-workers;
Our clients;
The people we meet as we go about our daily lives in the grocery stores, on the highways, etc..
You get the idea..
If we could all just learn to open up and love, just a teeny bit more, the world would be a much better place.
Sometimes Love Can Be A Little Painful
Love can sometimes cause us to be a little hurtful because we will do things for (and to) the ones we love that we would not do for others.
Here’s a perfect example.
I was speaking with a client about a legal matter. My clients had already paid an outside group a large sum of money to help them with their problem and they had received advice, that I thought, was not necessarily that effective, EVEN THOUGH it came from sources that were supposed to be experts.
My clients and I got in a little bit of an argument when I began to tell them my recommendations, which were a little different than those from the “experts.”
I finally wound up telling my clients that the “experts” were simply giving them advice, BUT I WAS TRYING TO LOOK OUT FOR THEIR BEST INTERESTS.
In other words, I wasn’t just looking for a paycheck. I was telling them what I thought BECAUSE I CARED! I told them that the “experts” cared about how much money they could make and weren’t worrying about the “small details.” I on the other hand was trying to help them “cover all the bases”, just to make sure they stay out of trouble.
I told my clients that I wasn’t going to just “blindly” sit back and take their money and watch them do something that I thought was foolish. That’s why I told them what I thought. In other words, I didn’t put my financial interests (i.e. sending my clients bills and getting paid) ahead of their personal interests and trying to protect them.
My job was to try and protect them, NOT to see how much money I can make from them.
So What’s My Point?
My point is that if we had a little bit more love in our lives, we could move a little further up Maslow’s ladder and begin to feel self-esteem.
That certainly could not be a bad thing.
Chapter 5
The Need For Esteem
To establish true self-esteem we must concentrate
on our successes and forget about the failures
and negatives in our lives.
(Denis Waitley)
Establish – To found, institute, build, or bring into being on a firm or stable basis. To show to be valid or true; prove. To cause to be accepted or recognized.
True – Being in accordance with the actual state or conditions. Real; genuine; authentic. Sincere; not deceitful. Being or reflecting the essential or genuine character of something.
Self-Esteem – A favorable impression of oneself. Self-respect.
Concentrate – To direct toward one point. To bring or draw to a common center or point of union. To bring all efforts, faculties, activities, etc., to bear on one thing or activity.
Success – The favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors.
Forget – To cease or fail to remember. To omit. To leave behind. To fail to think of.
Failure – An act or instance of failing or proving unsuccessful. A lack of success.
Negative – Lacking positive attributes. Characterized by the absence of distinguishing or marked qualities or features. Lacking in constructiveness, helpfulness, optimism, cooperativeness, or the like.
My Favorite Subjects
Here are some of my favorite subjects.
Self-esteem;
Confidence;
Achievement; and
Respect
Once Again, These Are All Two Way Streets
You have to have esteem for yourself BEFORE others will have esteem for you.
You have to have confidence in yourself BEFORE others will have confidence in you.
You have to have a burning desire to achieve BEFORE others are going to be willing to help you do so.
And most importantly of all, you have to have respect for yourself BEFORE others will respect you.
Unconditional Esteem For Yourself
Just like with self-love, true self-esteem is unconditional. That’s not always a very easy thing to do though. Instead, it is all too easy for us to get down on ourselves.
Any time we have a bad day, we risk lowering our sense of self-worth.
How do we overcome that?
It’s by developing a sense of self-worth that is so strong, we’re not going to let anything knock it down.
We have to tell ourselves that no matter what happens; no matter what we face; we are capable of handling it.
Where Do We Learn This?
Frequently, a sense of self-worth is developed in our childhoods. If we fortunate enough to grow up in a good environment with supporting parents (who also believe in themselves), you’re going to be ahead of the game.
For example, when I was growing up the people around me ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS, told me that I could accomplish whatever it is that I wanted.
Unfortunately, not everybody is as lucky as I have been.
A Perfect Example
One example of the difference parents can make is included in my first book: Achievement IQ: Find Purpose In Your LIFE & Achieve Massive Success.
One Saturday morning, several years ago, I was visiting a friend at his workplace. One of my friend’s fellow workers brought his ten-year-old son with him to work. When I was introduced to my friend’s co-worker, the co-worker then introduced is son as his “little idiot.”
I was EXTREMELY upset when I heard this. I did not say anything to the worker as I did not feel it was any of my business, but I felt like saying something such as, “I’m sure you don’t really mean that, as your son appears to be very smart to me.”
The sad part is that our brains (especially when we are young) frequently believe what others tell us about ourselves.
This father was unconsciously programming his son to believe that he was an idiot.
How’s that for shattering the self-confidence and esteem of your child?
So What’s My Point?
My point is that if we had a little bit more esteem for ourselves, we will have more esteem for others. Then we could all move up Maslow’s ladder and really start to put it all together..
That certainly could not be a bad thing.
Chapter 6
Self-Actualization – Part 1
What a man can be, he must be.
This need we call self-actualization.
(Abraham Maslow)
Man – An adult person (in the context of this quote, either a male or a female), as distinguished from a young boy or girl. A member of the species Homo Sapiens or all the members of this species collectively, without regard to sex. A human being; a person.
Can – To be able to; have the ability, power, or skill to. To know how to. To have the power or means to. To have the right or qualifications to. To have the possibility.
Be – To exist or live. To occupy a place or position.
Must – To be obliged or bound to by an imperative requirement. To be under the necessity to; need to. To be required or compelled to in order to fulfill some need or achieve an aim.
Need – A requirement, necessary duty, or obligation.
Call -To name or address. To designate as something specified.
Self Actualization – The achievement of one’s full potential through creativity, independence, spontaneity, and a grasp of the real world.
This chapter talks about some more of my favorite subjects.
Achievement;
Potential;
Creativity;
Independence;
Spontaneity; and
Being aware of the real world.
Be All That You Can Be
This reminds me of the United States Army slogan:
Be, all that you can be.
That’s what this is all about.
After all, if we don’t achieve as much as we are capable of, then something is being wasted.
Waste is a bad thing; perhaps the worst of things.
Winston Churchill said:
Continuous Effort – Not Strength Or Intelligence – Is The Key To Unlocking Our Potential.
Potential – Capable of being or becoming. Expressing possibility. An expression of what is possible.
Continuous – Without cessation. Without stopping. Constant.
Effort – Exertion of physical or mental power. An earnest or strenuous attempt. Something done by hard work.
Strength – Mental power, force or vigor. Moral power, firmness, or courage. Power by reason of influence, authority, resources, numbers, etc.
Intelligence – Capacity for learning, reasoning, understanding, and similar forms of mental activity; aptitude in grasping truths, relationships, facts, meanings, etc. Manifestation of a high mental capacity. The faculty of understanding.
Key – Something affords a means of access. Something that secures or controls entrance to a place.
Unlocking – To give access to; open. To set free; release.
So, What Is Your Potential?
As we suggested previously, your potential is an expression of what is possible.
When applied to people, it is an expression of what a person is capable of being or becoming.
That’s what self-actualization is all about. It is about becoming.
So I ask you, what are you capable of becoming?
The answer is that you are capable of becoming virtually anything YOU BELIEVE you can be.
The operative words in the previous sentence as what YOU BELIEVE.
Our Beliefs Control Us
Henry Ford said:
If you believe you can do a thing, or do not believe you can do a thing, either way, you’re right.
I know that I believe, on a personal level, that I am capable of doing just about anything I BELIEVE I can do.
Believe – To have confidence in the truth, the existence, or the reliability of something, even in the absence of absolute proof.
My point is that we do not have to have absolute proof in something in order to know that it’s true.
PROOF Of Our Potential Is Not Required – BELIEF In Our Potential Is
If we sit around waiting to receive proof of what we’re capable of, we may never get anywhere.
Instead, if we simply believe in ourselves and operate as if it were impossible to fail, we can get started MUCH SOONER toward achieving our potential.
Chapter 7
Self-Actualization – Part 2
Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing,
taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes and having fun.
(Mary Lou Cook)
Creativity – The ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.; originality, progressiveness or imagination.
Inventing – To produce something previously unknown by the use of ingenuity or imagination.
Experimenting – A test under controlled conditions that is made to demonstrate a known truth, examine the validity of a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy of something previously untried. An innovative act or procedure.
Growing – Becoming greater in quantity, size, extent, or intensity.
Risks – The possibility of suffering harm or loss; danger.
Rules – A principle or regulation governing conduct, action, procedure, arrangement, etc.
Mistakes – An error or fault resulting from defective judgment, deficient knowledge, or carelessness. A misconception or misunderstanding.
Fun – Something that provides amusement. Enjoyment. Playfulness.
Creativity Is What Can Save Us All
In my experience, creativity just might be the one thing that sets normal people apart from highly successful people.
BUT, there are good kinds of creativity and bad ones.
Just read the news . . .
There are stories of swindlers everywhere . . . I have no doubt in my mind that they were VERY creative.
But, they used it the wrong way . . . Something was missing . . . They were missing the moral upbringing necessary to do the right thing, even when it’s not the easiest thing or the most profitable thing.
Notwithstanding, I stick by my original statement. Creativity is going to be needed to get us out of our present jams.
The good news is that I have 100% faith in the creativity of the human race. You should too.
Chapter 8
A Challenge
To produce the best results, throw down a challenge.
(Dale Carnegie)
What constitutes a challenge?
Dictionary.com defines challenge as:
something that by its nature or character serves as a call to battle, contest, special effort, etc.
difficulty in a job or undertaking that is stimulating to one engaged in it
Why do people love challenges?
I’m not 100% sure why we love challenges, but the fact is that we do.
Apparently challenges stimulate us. Challenges give us a reason to try harder. Challenges encourage us to come closer to achieving our maximum potential.
Personally I believe it’s because of the “competitive instinct” that is inside most every one of us.
Dictionary.com defines competitive as:
having a strong desire to compete or to succeed
the desire to strive to outdo another for acknowledgment, a prize, supremacy, profit, etc.
A primal level.
In short, challenges affect us on our most primal levels. In short, challenges tie into our survival instincts.
As Abraham Maslow said in his now famous “Hierarchy of Needs”, survival is one of the most basic needs. It is a physiological need.
Does that apply today?
Surviving in today’s world is quite a bit different than it was when homo sapiens first came on the scene.
It’s probably easier to “survive” in today’s world than it has been at any time in man’s existence on the Earth.
Despite that, our basic instincts are still there. Our competitive nature is still there.
We can use that to our advantage. We should use that to our advantage.
I challenge you.
I challenge you to make an effort to learn something new, each and every day.
I challenge you to be kind to people, each and every day.
I challenge you to make the changes necessary to help make America and the world a better place to live.
Do you accept this challenge?