When looking at motivation and human behaviour, psychologists would often refer to Maslow's hierarchy of need. Comprising of 5 tiers of what Maslow referred to as human needs based on the assumption that people are motivated to achieve certain needs, which can be categorized into 1 of the 5 tiers.

Our most basic needs are the lower level need, and these are referred to as our physiological needs..... The need to eat, the need to be warmth... The basic needs that need to be fulfilled in order for us to survive. This will be a basic need that motivates behaviour, and as humans, we are intrinsically motivated to meet our physiological need. If we are hungry, we eat. If we are tired, we sleep. If we are cold, we take steps to gain warmth.

Maslow believed that as we satisfy all of our needs in one tier, we can progress onto the next tier of need. This is what continues to motivate us to change and progress.

As individuals we are capable of moving up the hierarchy...... We are capable of having the desire to succeed!!!

Once all of the lower level needs are satisfied, one may reach the top of the pyramid, which is self actualisation.

According to Maslow only 1 in 100 people will ever reach self actualisation during their lifetime!!!! Only 1 % of the human population will reach their full potential!!!!

So why do 99% of us fail to reach self actualisation???

Psychologists suggests that we fail to reach self actualisation because society rewards lower level needs too highly, and places too much emphasis on love, prestige and achievement. Our vanity as humans prevents us from achieving all that we are capable of.

Self actualisation is the point in our lives where we achieve all that we are capable of in every aspect of our lives! Sounds great... Sounds easy.....

Life experiences mean that our journey through Maslow's hierarchy of need isn't stable or a simple progression through each stage. Negative experiences, such as divorce, death, redundancy and personal crisis means that we can move fluidly up and down the stages.

What is the key to reaching self actualisation?

The key, according to psychologists is to firstly recognise where on the hierarchy of need you are. This can be done through self reflection, self criticism and honesty. You need to thinnk about your current situation, and whether you have satisfied the needs at each level. If you have not satisfied the needs on one level, you cannot progress to the next level. It's as simple as that.

You are in charge of your own destiny....... Only you can motivate yourself to change. If you aren't motivated enough to reach your full potential at each level, you will never reach your full potential as a person. Motivation comes from within!

(quote taken from google search)

My Journey to reaching self actualisation.

Looking at the hierarchy of need, I need to establish where I am in the hierarchy to enable me to set goals to reach the next level. I am lucky to be able to say that my physiological needs are satisfied. I have eaten today, my house is warm. I have clean water, am healthy and well rested. I am also satisfied that my safety needs are met. My house locks, I feel safe in my home and in my environment. I currently have no threats to my person or my family. I also think that I am safe in saying that my need to belong is satisfied... This has taken a long time to achieve, after a very difficult few years in very difficult relationships and having a turbulent relationship with my family. I am now surrounded by great friends, my family relationships are better, and I am in a new relationship that is healthy on the whole..... bar the occasional wobble.

That brings me to Esteem needs, which is where I stop completely on the hierarchy, so is obviously where I need motivation to change. I have very low self esteem and a negative body image. I have a good job, but don't feel any accomplishment in what I do. It's a difficult and stressful job and although can be very rewarding, I fail to be personally satisfied by the things that I used to find rewarding.

So in conclusion.... I need to be motivated to improve my own self esteem - To recognise my own self worth. To find rewards in every day life, and learn to appreciate those rewards. I need a plan to enable me to do this. So for now I will leave with this:

The top 5 things I would like to work on to fulfill my personal Esteem needs:

1. My body image
2. My body confidence
3. Having courage in my convictions.
4. Recognizing and acknowledging my own accomplishments
5. Recognizing my own good qualities and avoiding self persecution.

Time for me to:

(quote taken from google search)

Please follow me if you wish to follow my journey to improving my self esteem and for further blogs on the psychology of motivation. I intend to start daily video blogs so that you can follow my journey and hopefully you will be motivated by my story!!!

Thanks for reading. xxx