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Dear 1-Minute Motivator subscribers,
Life is always interesting. Often when you decide to commit to something, the Universe throws you a curve ball and you forget to follow through. Sometimes the curve ball is painful, other times extremely exciting. Though I have had a few difficult curve balls, like many of you, this last one has been life enhancing. Dr. Mancini, president of Parker College and Parker Seminars, asked me to help him a few months ago and I have been spending allot of time in Dallas and traveling the world, happily busy. That has satisfied my want to serve the greater good for humankind and of course left certain tasks on the way side. One of these tasks has been writing The One Minute Motivator. So I will write some when I can and hope you enjoy. Abraham Maslow, a famed psychologist, identified what moves people based on their needs. If you have not had the opportunity to see this in the past, you are invited to dissect the information below and see how you can apply this to your life.
Love and Light,
Gilles
Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
Physiological Needs. Physiological needs are the very basic needs such as air, water, food, sleep, etc. If these needs are not satisfied, it could lead to serious mental and physical illness and death. Fulfilling these needs allows us to live in a state of homeostasis. If these needs are not satisfied completely, it is difficult for our minds to focus on the fulfillment of the other needs below.
Safety Needs. There are essentially two parts to this category of needs - safety and security. Safety needs is the physical and psychological desire to be safe from physical harm. This need is a big motivator for learning the martial arts, buying a Volvo, or buying a house in a safe neighborhood. Security needs are more related to fear of change or loss, as in the case of job security. Security is almost all psychological, and despite the resources available to some people, this is a need that they can never seem to meet. This is mostly due to low self-esteem or the inability to control fear.
Love Needs. Love and the feeling of belonging follow in the hierarchy. Love, in this sense, is non-sexual and could refer to a marriage, friendship, support group, membership, congregation, and even a not-so-positive inner city gang.
Esteem Needs. This is the need for high self-esteem, which is one's self-worth or value. Self-esteem can easily be built internally in many positive ways. However, self-esteem can also easily be both built up and destroyed by others or external events.
Self-Actualization Needs. The need for self-actualization is pursuing the heart's desire and becoming the best one can be. This is the need for living in harmony with others, making a difference in the world, having faith in a higher power, philanthropy, and more.
Self-actualization is the need that is so often never fulfilled by most people because they are so caught up in their attempts to fulfill the first four basic needs. Yet this is where success in life is found. It is no coincidence that the fulfillment of this need often leads to the helping of others.
There are many ways you can put Maslow's theory to practical use in your pursuit of success. Here are some ideas:
- Understand and fulfill your own needs and live a satisfied life
- Make better decisions based on your true needs rather than just financial needs
- Learn to identify and offer ideas on how to satisfy the needs of those with whom you "negotiate"
- Satisfy the needs of employees, contractors, or students
- Satisfy the needs of friends or family
- Identify new markets for a product or service
- Have more empathy for others
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