Maslow's Triangle

Where are you on the triangle of life?

Abraham Maslow was a humanist psychologist who in the 1940s hypothesized that humans have a hierarchy of needs.

His ideas are often presented in the form of a triangle, with the basic needs as the triangle base.

The basic needs are grouped into five categories: survival, security and safety, sense of belonging, esteem, and self-actualization.

Survival means basic necessities such as water, food, clothing, shelter. These are the things that are required in order for a human to live.

Security and safety means many things. It means having the doors locked. It means financial security, which may mean many things to different people but to me means being able to pay your bills. It means being healthy, and that might include having health care for a lot of people.

Sense of belonging means that you have friends and family. It means society and community. It means people are not singular individuals but instead are part of a larger (and hopefully greater) good. People do not stand alone all the time. Loneliness can be a real killer, so this is very important. People may meet this need through family, clubs, religion, sports, and other ways.

Esteem means that you are valued and feel you have value. People must feel they are contributing and have something to contribute. This is also reversed: people need other people and things (such as ideals) to respect, as well. It might mean a little hero-worship and having someone to look up to, like a sports hero or a saint. Self-respect is important so long as it is not out of control.

Self-actualization means a person is at the very top of the triangle. A self-actualized person will be a learner, someone who seeks self knowledge and worldly knowledge. She will be aware of self and devote time to her own needs. She will know joy. She will accept responsibility for her mistakes and move on. She will not dwell upon weakness but instead will acknowledge it and choose to either keep it or do something about it. She will be committed to helping others and will feel kindly towards others and will want to be of service to humanity.

Given what I see around me, not to many people, including myself, are at the top of the triangle these days. Most seem to fall somewhere near the bottom, fighting over scraps. I see people insecure in their nation, in their families, in their religions, in their lives. Particularly during this recession, security has taken a nose dive as so many people worry about their retirement. Health care remains an unknown and even if Congress makes changes, someone will find a way to rape the system and cause more havoc than good.

Obviously as funding for the arts and education tumbles, the higher courses of life will crumble too. The beauty will be gone and we'll all be wallowing amongst the midden heap as things are not properly cared for.

Our base is not sturdy. As a nation, in families, as individuals, many humans are now looking more like a topless volcano than a triangle.

It's kind of scary, isn't it?

For more information, see here. The Wiki article is here.