Maybe a tool is just a tool. It does nothing on its own. It’s only useful when you use it for something useful. I never read Maslow’s Hierarchy in the context in which he presented it so I have no idea as to his motivation. It was presented to me in some survey class I hardly paid attention to but kept in my thoughts because of the self-actualization crap that was annoyingly discussed by a certain social group. I had no idea what self-actualization means and still don’t. Maslow’s Hierarchy continued to bubble up in my mind while stuck in traffic or sitting in another useless meeting at work. And then it occurred to me how simple it was: it’s a tool to differentiate “want” from “need.” It’s right in the title. follow it from the first level up, making sure you don’t stray from need into want territory. Food and shelter are obvious needs. Self-actualization is listed here as a need. I may have wanted to be a literary icon, but what I needed was to create a secure life for me, my wife, and children. Recognizing the difference between wants and needs was a useful tool that led me to be free of unachievable wants. Maybe that’s wasn’t what Maslow intended but it’s what I used it for.
O offense, because I love the effort and direction- but generally, people are best rooted first, through love and belonging, and then move up from there. Only in the post-modern financial capitalism do people graduate from college and have no idea who they are, where they belong, or what their purpose is, only in this fu*ked version of society does one need to re-create 4 stages of absent development to become “rooted”. We life in a society specifically designed to destroy family, friends, community, place, religion, and nationality. From pre-school to graduate school, new classmates, new teachers, new buildings, new peers, new adults, new subjects; a move from one school to another, and parents move for jobs, a new town, then a new city for college, and a second new city for a job, then a new neighborhood so you can afford a house- so America’s educated elite have no idea who they are, where they belong, what they believe, how to have meaning- and increasingly, can’t form a stable friendship, relationship, marriage, bear children, and create a stable family.
Starting with an imaginary adult who is “independent” is a false construct based a single, highly unusual social system that is poisonously unhealthy and wavering toward collapse. A human starts as a young child, with a mother, a family, in a geographic place, with a community of peers, a set of cultural values; it is only when these are systematically destroyed that ‘self actualización’ or ‘become rooted’ are near the top of any hierarchy of needs.
Take Odysseus- read or re-read the full length version. Did he have to become ‘self actualized’ ? Did he need to become ‘rooted’? NO FU*KING WAY! The archetypal Western hero, model for any man, had necessary trials and struggles, which he had to carry out with honor and valor. But he knew who he was, what he was, why he was, and what he had to do, from the beginning. Love, family, friendship, values,place, identity, belonging, belief, character; he had these by age 18. Our society systematically destroys these by age 18, leaving grown adults looking at a fucking pyramid for direction.
Questioning higher truths and staying connected to our community aren’t mutually exclusive. But relying solely on comfort and security can lead to complacency—leaving us feeling empty even when our relationships are warm and loving.
Considering your Odysseus example, he began his journey with a clear sense of identity and purpose that had never been tested. He was prideful and self-reliant because of his complacency. Yet the challenges he faced forced him to reassess his choices and beliefs to survive his journey, grappling with difficult mental and moral decisions that shifted his character arc into a wiser, more self-controlled leader—he became something by virtue.
Ideally, we’d be able to transcend our circumstances naturally. However, our world has always been imperfect and without discernment and intention, we are easily trapped in a fixed-mindset. For those who truly want to break free but feel lost, a simple, structured framework—like a pyramid—can offer much-needed guidance and direction in this very noisy world.
I developed this framework when I was deep in a decade of severe depression and it helped me transcend my ego to achieve spiritual awakening—and I’ve never had a single depressive episode again.
I like your reframe much more than I like the consultant-created pyramid of Maslow’s Hierarchy.
What!!! You have a 401 k… I can only wish.
This was fantastic, thank you!!
Maybe a tool is just a tool. It does nothing on its own. It’s only useful when you use it for something useful. I never read Maslow’s Hierarchy in the context in which he presented it so I have no idea as to his motivation. It was presented to me in some survey class I hardly paid attention to but kept in my thoughts because of the self-actualization crap that was annoyingly discussed by a certain social group. I had no idea what self-actualization means and still don’t. Maslow’s Hierarchy continued to bubble up in my mind while stuck in traffic or sitting in another useless meeting at work. And then it occurred to me how simple it was: it’s a tool to differentiate “want” from “need.” It’s right in the title. follow it from the first level up, making sure you don’t stray from need into want territory. Food and shelter are obvious needs. Self-actualization is listed here as a need. I may have wanted to be a literary icon, but what I needed was to create a secure life for me, my wife, and children. Recognizing the difference between wants and needs was a useful tool that led me to be free of unachievable wants. Maybe that’s wasn’t what Maslow intended but it’s what I used it for.
Level 5 listed twice, please correct. The levels you've presented seem to have a lot of overlap with Kegan stages.
Good catch.
😂 I’ve always loved the hierarchy of needs, but I really loved this article 😂🤣
Love this. Deconstructing Maslow's hierarchy while reframing it.
O offense, because I love the effort and direction- but generally, people are best rooted first, through love and belonging, and then move up from there. Only in the post-modern financial capitalism do people graduate from college and have no idea who they are, where they belong, or what their purpose is, only in this fu*ked version of society does one need to re-create 4 stages of absent development to become “rooted”. We life in a society specifically designed to destroy family, friends, community, place, religion, and nationality. From pre-school to graduate school, new classmates, new teachers, new buildings, new peers, new adults, new subjects; a move from one school to another, and parents move for jobs, a new town, then a new city for college, and a second new city for a job, then a new neighborhood so you can afford a house- so America’s educated elite have no idea who they are, where they belong, what they believe, how to have meaning- and increasingly, can’t form a stable friendship, relationship, marriage, bear children, and create a stable family.
Starting with an imaginary adult who is “independent” is a false construct based a single, highly unusual social system that is poisonously unhealthy and wavering toward collapse. A human starts as a young child, with a mother, a family, in a geographic place, with a community of peers, a set of cultural values; it is only when these are systematically destroyed that ‘self actualización’ or ‘become rooted’ are near the top of any hierarchy of needs.
Take Odysseus- read or re-read the full length version. Did he have to become ‘self actualized’ ? Did he need to become ‘rooted’? NO FU*KING WAY! The archetypal Western hero, model for any man, had necessary trials and struggles, which he had to carry out with honor and valor. But he knew who he was, what he was, why he was, and what he had to do, from the beginning. Love, family, friendship, values,place, identity, belonging, belief, character; he had these by age 18. Our society systematically destroys these by age 18, leaving grown adults looking at a fucking pyramid for direction.
Questioning higher truths and staying connected to our community aren’t mutually exclusive. But relying solely on comfort and security can lead to complacency—leaving us feeling empty even when our relationships are warm and loving.
Considering your Odysseus example, he began his journey with a clear sense of identity and purpose that had never been tested. He was prideful and self-reliant because of his complacency. Yet the challenges he faced forced him to reassess his choices and beliefs to survive his journey, grappling with difficult mental and moral decisions that shifted his character arc into a wiser, more self-controlled leader—he became something by virtue.
Ideally, we’d be able to transcend our circumstances naturally. However, our world has always been imperfect and without discernment and intention, we are easily trapped in a fixed-mindset. For those who truly want to break free but feel lost, a simple, structured framework—like a pyramid—can offer much-needed guidance and direction in this very noisy world.
I developed this framework when I was deep in a decade of severe depression and it helped me transcend my ego to achieve spiritual awakening—and I’ve never had a single depressive episode again.