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Does Maslow Need Revision?
(click for podcast) (8:19 min.)

 

“Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.”  – George Bernard Shaw

(click for podcast)
Most of us are pretty familiar with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, but just for clarity, the basic premise is that we ascend in our consciousness along five specific steps or stages. Starting with basic physiological needs, we progress to safety needs, then social needs like love and belonging. Then we move up to self-esteem needs, and finally self-actualization at the highest level.

There’ve been many criticisms of this hierarchy regarding it being Maslow’s personal opinion, rather than empirical, scientific data, and a cultural bias toward individualistic needs rather than community interconnectedness. It also overlooks other motivations, perhaps in service to simplification.  

My perspective on this was partially voiced by Maslow himself in terms of the strict stepwise progression, as he saw the more complex reality of combined steps. Again, probably to keep the model simple, it’s been widely accepted as is.

In fact, some stages may have their needs fulfilled on multiple levels or have multiple levels combined as well. Maslow acknowledged that meeting each need wasn’t all or nothing; that we might fulfill a stage only partially before progressing.



As Maslow came up with the model back in 1943, and the world has changed drastically since then, we need to look at it in today’s world. In my experience working with clients specifically to achieve that top step of self actualization, there’s far more bouncing around, up and down required. This is especially true when we look at the unique circumstances of individuals.

That said, here’s my controversial position. For most people, a certain amount of self actualization is a prerequisite need to some of the “lower” levels. When a person is in the throes of their internal narratives, it can prevent them from taking the actions needed to progress up the hierarchy.

I’m also seeing a lot of “chicken or the egg” issues with these stages being linear. Starting at the bottom, going backwards, if we aren’t safe, some of our physiological needs like sleep, finding food and water, and reproduction are going to be off the table. That would indicate Safety being the first stage, but again, without food, air, and water, we’re not safe either. “Chicken or the egg?” Taking this further, lack of esteem could impact both of these lower levels.

I think that to look at this model in a more functional way, we might need to eliminate the hierarchy a bit, and look at each stage influencing each other stage, more like a Venn Diagram of intersecting sets.

Not being at least partially self actualized, it may be far more difficult to fulfill either our physiological needs or safety. We need to be very present and aware of our surroundings, and understand our own capabilities and limitations. Without that level of self actualization we may risk our safety and/or miss opportunities to meet our physiological needs.

This dynamic continues up the ladder. Self-esteem and love are pretty twisted around each other. If we have a deficit in one, the other will be far more difficult to achieve, and certainly to maintain sustainably. Self actualization will activate self-esteem, so the intersecting sets show up again. I might even argue that healthy self-esteem might be a prerequisite for love and belonging, so we really have a problem with the linear view.

Let’s look deeper at that third level being love and belonging, to include friendship, intimacy, family, and sense of connection. What depth of friendship or intimacy can we achieve before actualizing ourselves? How we feel about ourselves impacts how we feel about others. Self actualization and self esteem increase our success with love and belonging. Until we’re at least on that path, we’re going to be in a far more superficial place with either.

We can see how in reality, the path is a very squiggly one, weaving through all the stages, in an almost recursive manner. As we touch on each stage, the other stages will have impact and affect us. Hopefully the self actualization stage will be more like a kind of force, pulling us upward in that third dimension.



Putting self actualization as a last step is almost like pouring the foundation for a house as the last step. Sure physiological needs have to be met to survive, but at the same time, our ability to meet those needs is improved by self actualization. Maybe that’s like making sure you get the right tools and materials before you try to build the house.

The struggles I’ve seen in relationships all go away when we focus on each individual’s personal development and self actualization. This has been true with every couple with whom I’ve worked. Their healthier sense of self esteem enhanced their relationships immeasurably.

The Safety needs level toward the bottom includes employment. Our ability to achieve higher levels of employment vastly improve with personal development and self-actualization. Again, with virtually every former client, the promotions and raises followed quickly, enhancing their ability to meet their Safety needs.

So in conclusion, although we can make arguments for the stepwise model making sense in a very simplified way, the truth is, we need to work on all the steps simultaneously. Furthermore, self actualization cannot be the last priority if we’re to maximize our success in every other area.


Training our minds to be at their peak simply makes all the other stages far easier to knock out of the park. To quote myself in mirthful truth, we’re the pebble, and all the ripples emanate outward from us. The more we’re actualized, the more the ripples go where we want them to go.

Want to learn more about how to become the best you possible? How your communication can hold you back or catapult you forward? Come visit the web site, or better yet, contact me and see how we can design a program to fit your needs and desired outcomes.

     - Ian J. Blei

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