The Hierarchy of Needs .

When it comes to human satisfaction, one might say that Abraham Maslow is the expert. This Maslow is the one and only who designed the idea of a hierarchy of needs, from physiological at the bottom, then safety/security, love, esteem, and eventually, assuming all of those are taken care of, self-actualization. We talked about this in my marketing class recently and it dawned on me that people don't really ever reach that point of self-actualization. How many of us can honestly say that we're completely satisfied with our lives? Not many, I'd imagine. Do you feel healthy? Are you physically able to do all that you want to? Do you feel safe and secure, in your home and financially? Do you feel loved, and full of all the encouragement and friendship that you may need? Are you happy with yourself? Do you have full confidence and a strong sense of independence? If the answer is somehow amazingly "yes" to all of those questions... congratulations; you've reached self-actualization.

Additionally, I found it really interesting that such a thing plays such large part in marketing. While I would look at these things and view them as overall goals of my life and lifestyle, it never would have occurred to me that this is a popular model for marketers to try to understand what consumers want. Naturally, various companies with various products appeal to consumers and customers in a various ways, to various types of needs.

I've sort of adopted the idea of this hierarchy of needs, and challenged myself to see if I might actually be able to reach self-actualization. I think this might take years... but nevertheless, it's a great goal to have, for anyone.

Got a topic you want to hear about? Got questions or comments? Want to chat? Shoot me an email at asmallpieceofgodsplan(at)gmail.com. I look forward to hearing from you!

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