Everyone likes to classify themselves with some sort of religion, or spiritual practice. However, not everybody understands how to implement them in a proficient manner. The following theory that I will be working on is Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs that was theorized back in 1943. According to D’Souza (2016), Maslow theorized that once someone meets the first level of needs, then they can begin to develop into the next stage, and so on, with the needs being physiological, safety, love and belonging, esteem, and self actualization. He named those deficient needs or D-needs and later developed the B-needs that expanded the self-actualization level into cognitive, aesthetic, self-transcendence, and self-actualization. Though is seems easy enough, there are certain steps that need to be taken in order to reach the heap of the hierarchy.
Maslow’s theory has been used in all sorts of other studies when it comes to one’s mental health and spiritual well-being, in which is still used today. Me personally, I feel as though there is a specific route that we, as humans, can go through to rid ourselves of human nature and tendencies. Th first step will be setting up goals, whether short term and long term in order to obtain each level of the hierarchy. The goals should be used to incorporate different parts of our physiological needs. Where are we going to lay our head at night, or will we have food and water to consume. After goals are set, you have to put them into action with step two, action step. The action step is exactly what it sounds like, where we must find our shelter, food, water, and clothing in order to meet our basic needs. This could be done by securing a job, saving money, and finding a small cheap apartment, or home.
Step three is continuing the build up or basic needs to the point where home is secure and able to manage itself for at least a three-month period. This means that supplies must be stacked up, and enough money to pay bills for a three-month period at least. This will give us the ability to begin focusing on other qualities, like searching for a better job, or shooting for a promotion. Being able to have a higher level of status within our current job, or with a different company can help us to bring in more money. Having moved up the ladder can give us the opportunity to not worry about basic needs as much anymore and start setting new short-term goals. This brings us into the next level in the hierarchy of needs, safety. Having both levels established, we can start working on the next.
Step Four will be our love/well-being focus. At this point we have all the basic needs met, and we can be able to focus on other people as well. We have developed love and safety for ourselves, which is a huge quality to have since we truly can’t show love to other people if we don’t love ourselves first. Loving other people is a direct correlation to how much we love ourselves. Searching for the ones we love should be done in quality places, not bars or night clubs. With us trying to get to a higher self, we can’t be drinking and going out all the time, we must stay disciplined. Which comes step number five, everything in moderation, including moderation. Having a level of discipline to understand that we can’t do one thing too much is a hard trait for some people, but we are already working towards a better self, so we must keep a level of discipline. If we find ourselves consuming alcohol too much to get a sense of social well-being, then we are searching in the wrong places. We must remain strict with ourselves in order to progress through the steps and reach our self-actualization.
Step number six is our status, where we are in our relationships, both business and love relationships. We can’t move on into the next levels of the hierarchy if we haven’t established a feeling of belonging with our social circles and our love relationships. We must do self-assessments in all interactions within our relationships. If a fight flares up, we must be able to find when we are in the wrong and be humble enough to admit it. If we progress any further without being able to self-assess, our relationships will crumble. This brings in step seven, ensuring relationships are secured enough that we can have the confidence that these people will always be in our lives and “have our backs”. Being confident that the people in our lives aren’t going to burn us, or loss our trust, we can begin to entrust them with literally everything. Whether it is us helping them, or them helping us, we always need to have someone there in order to progress with our spiritual well-being. Step number eight is the hardest step thus far, having a level of self-esteem that cannot be broken. Some of us, especially if we came from nothing, don’t feel as though we can ever add up to anything or we will never reach our full potential. However, having a level of self-esteem can helps us break through barriers and get us to the final level of self-actualization. We have made it this far already, so we should be able to remind ourselves where we were, where we have been, and where we are going. Remind ourselves daily of our goals for spirituality, mental capacity, physical well-being, and even status within the workplace. We are our biggest enemy.
Step nine puts us at the thresh hold of crossing over into self-actualization. Combining all these steps into one self-assessment and determine if we have reached the goals we want to obtain, and if there is anything that we could work on. If we personally don’t feel as though there is anything to work on, then we might need to go back through the steps again. There is always room for improvement, and if we understand that, then we can reach self-actualization/ enlightenment. Then the final step, maintenance. Continue to do self-assessments, every day if you must, but we need to understand when we are doing something that is affecting our performance. If we are doing something that doesn’t further our level of spiritual well-being in this world, then we must be able to recognize that it is a problem.
In conclusion, we all are on the pursuit of happiness and well-being. However, some of us don’t quite know how to begin. These steps are set forth for any person that has the desire to be a better person spiritually, physically, emotionally, or mentally. If you take these steps in order, you can find yourself to have a better mind set and a more successful lifestyle. Everyone can put their own spin on it, or you can complete them exactly as stated in this reading. However, if done with a higher level of discipline and a desire to live a better life, you will be able to feel better about yourself and your surroundings.
-Cyral I Callender III
References:
D’Souza, J., & Gurin, M. (2016). The universal significance of Maslow’s concept of self-actualization. The Humanistic Psychologist, 44(2), 210–214. https://doi.org/10.1037/hum0000027 Pursuit of Happiness. (2016). Abraham Maslow. Retrieved from: http://www.pursuit-of-happiness.org/history-of-happiness/abraham-maslow/
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