An interpretation of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, represented as a pyramid with the more basic needs at the bottom.

I’ve been thinking about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs quite a bit for the past few months, since being introduced to the theory by my fiancé, Jennie. The more I get into it, the more I see that it’s a suitable explanation for why so many of us are “stuck in a rut”, why we’re sometimes preoccupied with really stupid shit, and why some people don’t seem the least bit interested in higher concepts like philosophy, politics, creativity, morality. It explains why we can’t accept truths.

The short explanation is: this pyramid represents the various types of needs you have. If you haven’t satisfied the basic needs at the bottom, you can’t move up. Once you move up, your values change. What you think about and how you think about it changes. You change.

So it’s no use discussing morality or how best to refinance a mortgage for long term debt management with someone who is worried about where they are going to sleep tomorrow.

It also works on a finer level. You aren’t going to accomplish those big creative goals you’ve set for yourself until you’ve gained self-actualization. Likewise, you aren’t achieving self-actualization if you hate your body, don’t have any friends, and just lost your job.

But once you achieve a level it acts as sort of a save point for your game. You can come back there later, no questions asked, but you might have to run missions in other areas as needs arise.

If you are happily networking away in the Esteem level, trying to get recognized at work, trying to “make something of yourself”, and suddenly you find yourself diagnosed with cancer (for example) you will temporarily focus everything you’ve got down in the Safety/Physiological zones. You won’t have the need to worry about who’s getting ‘employee of the month’. You don’t care about getting your TPS reports in on time. It’s all about Safety and Physiology. It’s all you are driven to do.

Temporarily.

After you begin treatment, and have time to collect your thoughts, you don’t have to start over looking for love and friendship — nope, you jump right back into where you left off. You go into work, worry about getting recognized by the boss, doing better work than the office deadbeat, and start thinking about that corner office again.

If you struggle with needs that are not very clearly defined in your life, it might be worth comparing yourself to Maslow’s pyramid to see where you are. Moreover, it’s probably a good idea to make sure you’ve taken care of all your needs in those bottom areas before beating yourself up for not being focused on moral clarity, or lack of creative drive.

I struggle with drive and direction constantly and that struggle has led me to learn more about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, as well as other theories on resistance in our lives. I love to write, but I don’t write. I love to draw, but I don’t draw. I ask myself why quite frequently.

The only answer I have is I’m not ready. There’s work to be done in these other areas and I’m slowing progress by worrying about stuff that’s ahead of where I find myself.

Read more about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow’s_hierarchy_of_needs