The Hierarchy of Needs: A Revised Edition

Hey Hi Hello. In today’s online world, there’s an infinite well of content about self-improvement.

Today, I’m deciding to chime in with some of my own thoughts.

In this brief essay, we’re going to (mildly) criticize a world-famous psychologist.

Let’s begin.

Abraham Harold Maslow. You’ve probably heard the name somewhere.

He was an American psychologist who is best known for creating Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, a theory of psychological health predicated on fulfilling natural human needs, culminating in self-actualization.

Maslow structured human needs in a hierarchy − a pressing need would need to be (mostly) satisfied before attention could be given to the next highest need.

It’s like a pyramid: you need the previous level to be built before you can construct the current level.

Simple enough to imagine.

The hierarchy has a foundation of Physiological Needs, then Safety, then Love/Belonging, then Esteem, and finishes with Self-Actualization.

Interesting, insightful, and unfortunately, too abstract and vague to be of any real practical value.

Let’s simplify it, shall we?

In some recent notes, I made a similar, but simplified version of Maslow’s hierarchy.

The foundation is still rooted in physiological needs, but some of the other levels have been consolidated, while others have been expanded, and others completely removed.

The foundation, physiological needs, can be further divided into three sub-categories.

Social – friends, family, love, relationships, praise and criticism, recognition of efforts, etc etc

Biological – food, water, shelter, clothes, air, general sustenance 

Economical – money, assets, work, means of producing, ways to generally acquire resources

The next level, self-improvement, focuses on optimizing the existence of the self.

This can be further broken down into two sub-categories:

Cognitive Optimization – brain health, emotional intelligence, critical thinking, things of that nature

Physical Optimization – a healthy body; simple as.

Both are exactly what they sound like.

Quick Note: Many people will read this and probably think “Ok, so I should become the best version of myself. Got it”.

Not necessarily. “The best version of yourself” is a different idea than being the most optimized version of yourself.

Trying for perfection is vague, loosely defined, and therefore easy to miss.

Optimization is goal-oriented, and focused on specific, intentional outcomes.  

Focus on optimization. Figure out what your own goals are, and work towards them specifically.

If you can’t achieve your own goals, you likely won’t achieve the third level: politics and education.

This level of the hierarchy is all about helping others, and servicing your community in such as way that elevates the whole of it.

If you have accrued wisdom on a particular subject, spread your ideas (but you know, don’t force them down people’s throat and don’t charge an arm and a leg).

If you see issues in your community, take an active role in helping mitigate them, or even alleviate them altogether.

Quick Note: If you can’t help yourself, you’re going to have hard time helping others.

Does that mean you have to neglect those around you to focus on yourself? Yes, somewhat, but not always. Understand that priorities are dynamic.

You can focus on yourself at level two, while also doing a little side-work for others at level three; likewise, you can help others at level three, while continuing to do some light personal improvement at level two.

The final level is enlightenment. I could speculate on what this is (and I will, but not too deeply).

Enlightenment here is just a vague reference to zen. Enjoy things for what they are; stop and smell the roses; don’t get too caught up in the fleeting moment; be present.

Enlightenment could be described as a reduction in the everyday anxieties of life. Take as much time as you need doing things; you are in no rush; you have no schedule, no deadlines to abide by. All your time is just that, YOUR time.

If you manage to make it this far, the hard work is done.

You’ve acquired resources; you’ve optimized your selfhood; you’ve helped other people increase their quality of life.

All that remains is for you to simply spend time doing things you enjoy.

Final Note: As with all things, your placement on this hierarchy will be dynamic. Maybe some days are focused on resource acquisition, some more centered around self-optimization, or community involvement.

The lines that separate the sections of the hierarchy are blurred, and rightfully so; the only thing truly necessary is that you experience all levels at some point in this brief existence.