A Theory of Personal Development

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A Theory of Personal Development

There are many ideas surrounding personal development, one of which is detailed below:

- Abraham Maslow's theory of motivation

The basis of Maslow’s theory of motivation is that human beings are motivated by unsatisfied needs, and that certain lower needs need to be satisfied before higher needs can be addressed.

- My favorite example is 
"You are in a room with your favorite object be it a car, piece of technology or something else. What do you care about most in the room? Now take all the oxygen out of the room ... How much do you care about it now".

The most fundamental and basic four layers of the pyramid contain what Maslow called “deficiency needs”: Esteem, Friendship and Love, Security, and Physical Needs.
With the exception of the most fundamental (physiological) needs, if these “deficiency needs” are not met, the body gives no physical indication but the individual feels anxious and tense.

While a person is motivated to fulfill these basic desires, they continue to move toward growth, and eventually self-actualization.

Every person is capable and has the desire to move up the hierarchy toward a level of self-actualization.

Unfortunately, progress is often disrupted by failure to meet lower level needs: Maslow suggested that only 2% of the people in the world really achieve self actualization.

The original hierarchy of needs five-stage model includes:
1. Biological and Physiological needs – air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex, sleep, etc.
2. Safety needs – protection from elements, security, order, law, limits, stability, etc.
3. Belongingness and Love needs – work group, family, affection, relationships, etc.
4. Esteem needs – self-esteem, achievement, mastery, independence, status, dominance, prestige, managerial responsibility, etc.
5. Self-Actualization needs – realizing personal potential, self-fulfillment, seeking personal growth and peak experiences.
Maslow (1970) says that all individuals have the need to see themselves as competent and autonomous, also that every person has limitless room for growth.  

Self-actualisation refers to the desire that everybody has ‘to become everything that they are capable of becoming’.  
In other words, it refers to self-fulfilment and the need to reach full potential as a unique human being.

For Maslow, the path to self-actualisation involves being in touch with your feelings, experiencing life fully and with total concentration.

Maslow, A. H. (1970), Motivation and Personality, (2nd Edition), Harper & Row, New York.

Story Source: http://www.skillsyouneed.com/ps/personal-development.html#ixzz3SrX9zcDE

EXPANDED PYRAMID 

A more recent eight-stage model has been developed during the 1990s, with the addition of other 3 needs:
– Cognitive needs – knowledge, meaning, etc. 
– Aesthetic needs – appreciation and search for beauty, balance, form, etc.
– Transcendence needs – helping others to achieve self actualization.

Here’s a video about the expanded hierarchy of needs: