Self-actualization is a term first coined by Kurt Goldstein that most often refers to the top level of Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. In his seminal paper about human motivationwhere he first introduced his hierarchy of needs, Maslow defined self-actualization by claiming that “[w]hat a man can be, he must be. This need we may call self-actualization” (Maslow, 1943).
Self-actualization has also been described as:
“the psychological process aimed at maximizing the use of a person’s abilities and resources. This process may vary from one person to another” (Couture et al., 2007).
In other words, for our purposes, self-actualization can be thought of as the full realization of one’s creative, intellectual, or social potential.
Since self-actualization is based on leveraging one’s abilities to reach their potential, it is a very individual process and can greatly differ from person to person. As we will see, this recognition of individual motivations is a key part of Maslow’s work, and what he felt differentiated it from the contemporary motivational psychology of his early career.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is made up of “physiological [needs], safety [needs], love [needs], esteem [needs], and self-actualization” in a pyramid from bottom to top. Each level of needs must be taken care of before the next one can be addressed—so ensuring one’s physiological needs (like food and water) is a prerequisite to ensuring their safety needs (like shelter), ensuring one’s safety needs is a prerequisite to ensuring one’s love needs, and so on.
Because self-actualization is the highest level, it is only when one’s physiological, safety, love, and esteem needs are taken care of that one can hope to achieve self-actualization.
Examples of Self-Actualization
This raises the question of what self-actualization actually looks like. When first describing self-actualization, Maslow described the top of his hierarchy of needs by remarking that:
“[a] musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately happy” (Maslow, 1943).
…
The authors found that “lay perceptions of realizing one’s full potential are linked to the fundamental motive of achieving status and esteem.”
In other words, participants most associated realizing their potential (and the drive to do so) with reaching some level of internally-recognized success (esteem, which is notably on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs itself) and some level of externally-recognized success (status).
This conflicts with Maslow’s (1943) initial separation of status/esteem and self-actualization. The authors, however, point out that “a functional reading” of Maslow’s work, such as the one discussed by Kenrick et al. (2010), indicates that “many of the behaviors involved in pursuing one’s full potential are linked to status, both directly and indirectly” (Krems et al., 2017). This relation between status-seeking and self-actualization also fits in with the fact that the most obvious examples of self-actualization are of public figures who have achieved high levels of status.
…
Self-actualization is actually related to positive psychology in two distinct ways: as a component of well-being and as a way to measure the nurturing of genius.
…
So what relevance does self-actualization hold for the average person? At the end of the day, realizing one’s potential is a personal endeavor that depends on where one’s creative, intellectual, or social potential lies.
In other words, self-actualization is not about making the most money or becoming the most famous person in the world. Instead, self-actualization is about reaching one’s personal potential, whether that means becoming a painter, a politician, a philosopher, a teacher, or anything else.
Self-actualization is truly about achieving your dreams!
What does self-actualization mean to you? When do you feel like you are self-actualizing, and what does it feel like?
- excerpts from Joaquín Selva, Bc.S., Psychologist