Saturday, 29 September 2012

Our Needs (Maslow)

Maslow came up with a hierarchy of needs starting with the most basic and working his way up to the nice to haves.  His point was that we can exist on very little but that is all it will be existence but to have a full life we need other things as well.  Those things though alter in their importance.  Below is his diagram:


An interesting exercise is to have a look at your life and see where the different bits of it fit in.  For example; do I have enough to eat?  The you have fulfilled one to the basic requirements of life.  The point is it gives a person a process to discover what is missing in their lives.  Once that is done the much much harder task of putting that right begins.

The following link leads to a test to see what areas of your life may need attention:

If you are wondering what Maslow's perfect person would look like here is his list.

  • keen sense of reality - aware of real situations - objective judgement, rather than subjective
  • see problems in terms of challenges and situations requiring solutions, rather than see problems as personal complaints or excuses
  • need for privacy and comfortable being alone
  • reliant on own experiences and judgement - independent - not reliant on culture and environment to form opinions and views
  • not susceptible to social pressures - non-conformist
  • democratic, fair and non-discriminating - embracing and enjoying all cultures, races and individual styles
  • socially compassionate - possessing humanity
  • accepting others as they are and not trying to change people
  • comfortable with oneself - despite any unconventional tendencies
  • a few close intimate friends rather than many surface relationships
  • sense of humour directed at oneself or the human condition, rather than at the expense of others
  • spontaneous and natural - true to oneself, rather than being how others want
  • excited and interested in everything, even ordinary things
  • creative, inventive and original
  • seek peak experiences that leave a lasting impression



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