Realizing Self-actualization

If we talk about thedictionary meaningof the term self-actualization, it states that“self-actualization is the achievement of one's full potential through creativity, independence, spontaneity, and a grasp of the real world.”Thus according to this definition in order to achieve self-actualization one must realize the potential he or she is born with.

According to Abraham Maslow every individual has a hierarchy of needs and every individual fulfill their needs in that predetermined order of importance. In his hierarchy of needs Maslow has talked aboutLower order needs and higher order needs.The hierarchy of needs is depicted as a pyramid with lower order needs forming the base of the pyramid.

The lower order needs are nothing but what we, in general terms refer to as the basic requirements of life. These lower order needs are further categorized asPhysiological needs,safety needs, and social needs.Where physiological needs are same as, need of food, water, shelter etc. On the other hand safety needs are related to personal security, financial security, and safety net against accidents& illness, and the social needs are the needs of love and belongingness which is present in every individual.

When I talk about the higher order needs it is again categorized as need of Self Esteem and the last one is the need of Self Actualization. Now the need of self esteem is the need to be respected, to have self-respect, and to respect others. In order to fulfill the need of self-esteem people need to engage them selves to gain recognition and have an activity or activities that give the person a sense of contribution, to feel accepted and self-valued, be it in a profession or personal life.

The need of self actualization is the one which according to Maslow is the ultimate level of self growth for every individual present on this planet. Self actualization is“the desire for self-fulfillment, namely the tendency for him [the individual] to become actualized in what he is potentially. This tendency might be phrased as the desire to become more and more what one is, to become everything that one is capable of becoming.”thus Maslow has described self actualization as a desire and not a driving force. It is a mental state of reaching the utmost level of perfection.

Where as according to Kurt Goldstein, self-actualization is"the tendency to actualize, as much as possible, [the organism's] individual capacities"in the world. And the tendency to actualize is the only drive by which the life of an individual is determined. Thus he defined self-actualization as a driving life force that will ultimately lead to maximizing one's abilities and determine the path of one's life.

While Goldstein defined self-actualization as a driving force, Maslow uses this very term to describe personal growth that takes place once lower order needs have been met. For Goldstein it was a motive and for Maslow it was a level of development; for both, however, roughly the same kinds of qualities were expressed like: independence, autonomy, a tendency to form few but deep friendships, a "philosophical" sense of humor, a tendency to resist outside pressures and a general transcendence of the environment rather than a simple "coping" with it.

If we take into consideration the actual life situations of an individual the theory of Goldstein is more appropriate as every individual who has achieved self-actualization (according to Maslow’s theory the one who has come to the level of self-actualization) have taken it as a driving force and not a level of development.

Self-actualization can be felt at any level of development i.e. even at the basic level of physiology, whereas Maslow’s theory emphasizes the fact that self-actualization can not normally be reached until other lower order necessities are satisfied. But according to me what makes the actual difference between a successful person and an average person is that, an average individual climbs the Maslow’s need of hierarchy in which the lower order needs are more important and an individual first tends to fulfill these and then climbs the ladder to reach the level of self-actualization.

Where as for a successful person the lower order needs are no doubt important but the actual driving force even when he is fulfilling these lower order needs is the force of self-actualization. In this view, it is the master motive—indeed, the only real motive a person has, all others being merely manifestations of it. Thus in order to determine the path of one's life one first needs to realize that he or she can achieve one's full potential and can reach the utmost level of  self development.

So, an