MASLOW'S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS AND HOW IT IS REFLECTED IN YOUR LIFE
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Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a theory of motivation which states that five categories of human needs dictate an individual's behavior.
Those needs are physiological needs, safety needs, love and belonging needs, esteem needs, and self-actualization needs.
● The most basic level of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs covers physiological needs. These are the things that we simply cannot live without: air, food, drink, warmth, sleep and shelter. At this end of the hierarchy, all the needs are ‘deficiency needs’. We need them because when they are deficient, it’s unpleasant for us. At the top end of the hierarchy, there are ‘growth needs’ – we don’t need them because we’re lacking in something, but instead in order to grow as individuals.
Hierarchical order here ranges from the most basic needs to the most advanced needs.
An updated version of this need has been described as ‘belongingness and love’, which perhaps addresses its scope more accurately. We need friendships, family connections and emotional intimacy with others. Different people in different societies meet this need in different ways: for some people, their need for social belonging might be met entirely within their extended family;
Another later addition to Maslow’s original hierarchy is our aesthetic need. That’s our desire, separate from anything else, to experience beauty in whatever form.
The pinnacle of Maslow’s original hierarchy was self-actualisation. This is perhaps the hardest level to define, as it means different things to different people. Broadly, it’s about fulfilling the full extent of your own potential across all the areas that are personally important to you.
It’s worth using Maslow’s Hierarchy when you know something’s getting you down but you’re not sure what it is. Running through the different needs can help you pin down what it is that you’re missing, whether you’re feeling the cognitive need to stretch your brain cells or the need to catch up with some friends and feel a sense of social belonging.