TIDINGS THAT INSPIRE
SELF ACTUALIZATION
By Jennifer Mwangangi-Ayoti
Y
ou have probably heard
of Abraham Maslow in
connection with his model
called the ‘hierarchy of needs’.
For Maslow, all people are innately
good and driven towards what
he calls ‘self-actualization’ - that
is, personal fulfillment and the
realization of potentials. While the
concept of self-actualization seems
too abstract to define, Maslow
believes that it’s nevertheless a
concept that will resonate with
most of us.
Almost everyone, according to
Maslow, has already experienced
flitting moments of selfactualization: times when we are
absolutely happy or satisfied with
the goals we have achieved. For
instance remember that time when
you were financially able to take
that long deserved holiday? How
did that feel?
Or that moment when that pair
of timeless pants that haunted you
in your closet for so long fitted
perfectly because you had finally
managed to lose the belly fat - most
of us can resonate with this one.
Here is the challenge; How do we
make these transient moments of
‘‘For Maslow, all people are innately good
and driven towards what he calls ‘selfactualization’ - that is, personal fulfillment
and the realization of potentials. While
the concept of self-actualization seems too
abstract to define, Maslow believes that it’s
nevertheless a concept that will resonate with
most of us.’’
22 MAL 11/16 ISSUE
self-fulfillment more long-lasting?
These moments have been proven
to have a huge health benefit; we
are better mums, dads, siblings,
spouse when we are happier!
Let’s look at the facts first
Before you can become a selfactualized person, you must first
fulfill more basic needs. Maslow
says that a person’s most basic
and important requirement is our
physiological and safety needs: we
need a roof over our head and food
in our belly.
A good example is; a survivor of a
natural disaster will first wonder
about how to secure food and
lodging before their traumatic
experiences can be processed.
Once the physiological and safety
needs are met, we can then move
towards fulfilling relational needs.
We all want to be accepted and
cared for by those we interact with.
Unless our needs for love and
belonging are met, it’s difficult to
develop a positive view of ourselves.
For example, a child who feels