BASIC NEEDS vs. GROWTH NEEDS
Are you motivated to pursue goals beyond your basic needs?
Whether your answer is yes, no, or somewhat, this is an opportunity to look closer at where you are and reflect on your goals.
Motivation is a crucial principle for change. One of the best-known motivation theories is Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Maslow was a humanistic psychologist who studied what motivated human behavior. He proposed that people have an innate desire to self-actualize, fulfill their full potential.
According to Maslow, we have five categories of needs: physiological, safety, love, esteem, and self-actualization. Maslow proposed that to self-actualize, one's most basic needs have to be fulfilled. The hierarchy of needs is displayed as a pyramid, with the pyramid's lower levels consisting of basic needs and the higher levels, growth needs. This post will examine Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and provide journal prompts to help you get from a lower level to a higher functioning level.
Psychological & Safety Needs
Psychological needs consist of air, food, shelter, sleep, and reproduction. Safety needs include health, a sense of security, employment, etc.
Journal Prompts to Examine Psychological & Safety Needs
Do you consistently have enough food, warmth, sleep?
Have there been times in the past where you have experienced food insecurity?
Do you feel safe where you are currently living?
Have there been times in the past where you did not feel safe with where you were living?
Do you have trouble falling or staying asleep? Identify what past/present events or thoughts contribute to your insomnia.
If you are sexually active, do you feel safe with your current partner(s)? Have there been times in the past where you did not feel safe sexually?
Are you physically healthy?
Do you have a sense of security in your job?
If you answered yes to one or more of the following questions, take time to consider what resources you may need to overcome barriers to psychological and safety needs. If your psychological/safety needs are met in the present, were there past instances where they were not? Have you worked through past issues related to psychological/safety needs? The brain remembers past insecurities tied to basic needs for survival reasons. The survival brain can often act as if you are experiencing lack when you are not. Basic needs insecurity can be seen in maladaptive behaviors such as hoarding food, tightness with money, overworking, and getting stuck in survival mode.
LOVE AND BELONGING
As human beings, we all have an innate desire to feel connected to others, be loved and love in return. The need for love and belonging is universal and includes relationships such as families, friendships, romantic relationships, and social groups. Research shows that love and belonging contribute to health and well-being. Researcher Brene Brown in her TED The Power of Vulnerability, stated that "there was only one variable that separated the people who have a strong sense of love and belonging and the people who struggle for it. And that was, the people who have a strong sense of love and belonging believe they're worthy of love and belonging. That's it. They believe they're worthy."
Journal Prompts to Examine Your Sense of Love and Belonging
Where or with whom do you feel a sense of love and belonging, both past/present?
What are your fears about love and belonging?
Have you experienced disappointments in past relationships?
Do issues from the past influence present relationships?
ESTEEM
According to Maslow, there are two components to esteem needs. The first involves feeling confident about oneself, and the second is feeling valued by others. When you feel good about yourself and your contributions, it enhances your sense of self and belonging.
Journal Prompts for Examining Esteem
Do you have healthy self-esteem?
Where do you get your self-confidence? (looks, intelligence, social acceptance, work, etc.)
Is your self-worth continually changing based on what is happening in your social environment?
How can you begin to identify with intrinsic self-worth? Your worth is internal, not external.
Tips and Tools for Increasing Esteem
You can improve your esteem by practicing affirmations. Affirmations are proven to rewire our brains. They play an essential role in breaking patterns of negative self-talk, which leads to negative actions. When we are intentional with our thoughts, language, and actions, we affirm the life that we are creating.
Examples of Common Affirmations
I am enough.
I am worthy of love and belonging.
I am loved.
I am at peace with myself.
I am healthy, happy, and whole.
I am powerful and creating a life of intention.
SELF-ACTUALIZATION
Self-actualization is fulfilling one's full potential. According to Maslow, achieving self-actualization is rare. He provided examples of famous self-actualized individuals such as Albert Einstein and Mother Teresa. Self-actualization involves enhanced morality, problem-solving, and creativity.
Self-actualization is subjective based on your societal, cultural values, and norms.
Journal prompts for Self-Actualization
What areas of your life can you examine and potentially enhance?
(morality, spirituality, career, education, family, relationships)
Are you satisfied with where you are in your life? Is there room for growth and maximizing your potential?
What would it look like if you work towards your full potential?
What do the words full potential mean to you? And how will you reach them?
Limitations of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.
Maslow Hierarchy of Needs cannot be empirically tested, and these needs look different across diverse cultures. Maslow's theory is a good foundation for examining the different levels of basic needs versus growth needs. Other researchers have proposed that people do not move through these stages in a linear matter. Some people may not have their basic needs met, yet they still have a sense of love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization. This theory has influenced a lot of researchers and increased the influence of humanistic psychology.
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