Self Actualisation

Maslow (1970) suggests that all individuals have an in-built need for personal
development which occurs through the process called self-actualisation.
The extent to which people are able to develop depends on certain needs being met and these
needs form a hierarchy. Only when one level of need is satisfied can a higher one be developed. As
change occurs throughout life, however, the level of need motivating someones behaviour at any
one time will also change.

At the bottom of the hierarchy are the basic physiological needs for food, drink, sex and
sleep, i.e., the basics for survival.

Second are the needs for safety and security in both the physical and economic sense.

Thirdly, progression can be made to satisfying the need for love and belonging.

The fourth level refers to meeting the need for self-esteem and self-worth. This is the level
most closely related to self-empowerment.

The fifth level relates to the need to understand.This level includes more abstract ideas such
as curiosity and the search for meaning or purpose and a deeper understanding.

The sixth relates to aesthetic needs of beauty, symmetry and order. At the top of Maslows
hierarchy, is the need for self-actualisation.
Maslow (1970, p.383) 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.

For more on motivation, see our pages: Self-Motivation and Motivating Others.

Practical Steps to Personal Development

Practical steps can be taken to enhance personal development, including:

Organising your time.

Producing a personal CV or rsum.

Undertaking a skills appraisal.

Looking at your transferable skills.

Overcoming barriers to learning a new skill.

Organising Your Time

If you are considering making changes in your life, finding additional time often poses a problem. It
could be that the changes you are thinking of making are to ensure you have extra time to:

Spend with your family.

Spend on things you enjoy doing.

Devote to your work.

Devote to your education.

Whatever the reason, looking at how you spend your time will encourage you to think of ways your
time could be managed more effectively.
Our pages: Time Management and Minimising Distractions give further information about how
you may manage your time more effectively, these include:

Learning to say 'no' to jobs or requests that you feel are not your responsibility.

Learning to delegate sharing jobs can be fun and will leave you with more time. See our
page, Delegation Skills.

Making a to do list of tasks you need to do each day/week, ticking off tasks that you
complete.

Giving up things you do not really want or need to do.

Identifying your high and low times of the day. Everyone has a time when he/she feels more
or less energetic. Try to do the most demanding tasks when you have the greatest energy as you
will do them more quickly, thereby releasing more time to spend on other things.
For many people their personal development will involve setting goals; these might be to change
behaviour - as in looking at their time management - learning new skills or advancing their career.

Many employers are looking for the same sorts of skills. These include good
communication skills, the ability to work as part of a team and the ability to learn
these are often termed Soft Skills and are the sorts of skills that SkillsYouNeed
writes about. Beyond that the skills required will depend on the particular job.