Zeroing in on your Targets

Zeroing in on your Targets

 

Affirmations and goals play an important part of how successful and happy we are. We all have an

 idea in mind of what we want in our lives, but more often than not we never put those thoughts

and ideals down to paper. If we put our objectives down in written form, we create a clear

concise ideal of what we want to attract into reality. Writing these things down makes them

official and revisiting these ideals (suggested daily, or at least weekly) puts us all closer to the

goals and dreams we aspire to- since what we think and speak about we attract. The powers of

our thoughts and words have a tendency to attract to us those very things. Be sure that your

thoughts and words are worthwhile and good ones- why focus on any other type? Unless of

course you wish to attract what you are thinking about.  Involved a few of your positive peeps to

join you in this, and help each other keep track of your affirmations and goals. Surround yourself

 with positive like-minded people and help each other stay on course.

 

 

Affirmations and Goals

 

List of areas of life for self-created affirmations and success.

Look at daily!

What do we want out of these areas in life? What would be ideal?

 

Family __________________________________________________________________

Personal relationships ___________________________________________________

Career __________________________________________________________________

Financial ________________________________________________________________

Educational _____________________________________________________________

Spiritual ________________________________________________________________

Social ___________________________________________________________________

Physical _________________________________________________________________

Enrichment ______________________________________________________________

House and home _________________________________________________________

Organizational ___________________________________________________________

Creative/Artistic _________________________________________________________

 

 

Goal Setting

Lifetime Goals: ____________________________________________________________________

10 Year Goals: ____________________________________________________________________

5 Year Goals: _____________________________________________________________________

2 Year Goals: _____________________________________________________________________

1 Year Goals: _____________________________________________________________________

Quarterly Goals: ___________________________________________________________________

Monthly Goals: ____________________________________________________________________

Weekly Goals: ____________________________________________________________________

Daily Goals: ______________________________________________________________________

 

Shift of Focus to NOW

“It was always the becoming he dreamed of, never the being.” ― F. Scott Fitzgerald

 

 

Much of our focus lies on what has either happened in the past or thoughts of what is to come in the future. Rarely are thoughts of the present and enjoying in detail what we have in front of us right now. We tend to dwell on the past and allow our thoughts to be occupied what has beens and what ifs- instead of realizing that the present moment is the time to live and create memories of true living.

Being present in the now is the only time that we have available to us. Enjoy the present and make the most of it while you are in it and create a wonderful future.

Extras for Vision Boards

I just came across these great blank checks to fill out to yourself or someone you feel might need it. Fill one out and have faith that you will be provided with what you need. Great for vision boards, prayers and meditations to ask for abundance to manifest in your life.

Have fun with it an give it a whirl, see if it works for you. No harm, no foul if it is done with the best intentions for all involved. We loose our games of pretend as we grow into adults and stop having faith and believing in the impossible.

You may even make a few bucks! Who knows. Children have such a vibrant energy because they believe in the unattainable. As adults we loose it, and we become stunted because we lack that great ballance of imagination with our realities.

Creative Hiatus…

Creative Hiatus…

I have been off to a small few month hiatus from blogging, mostly due to the fact that I have been working on a new creative project….of writing my first book. The book will based on the same subjects that my blog is based on- Happy living and a positive life style to success. Aside from that I have been enjoying the winter months wrapped up in fuzzy blankets sipping hot cocoa (and well let’s face it, a glass of wine or two!). The winter months are always a good time to schedule projects and make  great plans to execute in the warmer months when our bodies naturally feel like doing more. I use my hibernation mode to focus on school and creative ideas and projects.

These last few months I have also been able to focus on being creative in my Etsy shop Ambivalent Relics (http://www.etsy.com/shop/AmbivalentRelics),where I take old obscure items and give them new life- mixed media style. I have just added a ton of interesting reproduction pocket watch pieces. Tons of new baubles and one of a kind mixed media art pieces. How I do love to be creative!

 

 

$17.00

$27.00

$33.00$33.00

$37.00

$33.00$36.00

$8.00

$33.00

$33.00

$20.00

 

 

                                                                                                                                        $33.00

 

Manifest It

We create our own reality all around us. As the great metaphysician Florence Scovell  Schinn said, “your word is your wand.” Your words and thoughts attract the vibratory forces of what you think and say. You create your own reality. Do not condemn yourself or anyone else with a misuse of thought or word energy.   Speak good things into existence and they are more likely to manifest in reality.

 

 

 

 

Skipping the Middle Man

As adults we are faced with a vast amount of responsibility. It is often overwhelming and all-consuming at times. We live in a day and age where we are more stressed out as a society than any other before us. The world we live in is fast paced and the expectations of us are endless.  The stress and the worry of what comes next or how we may find the means, mentally, physically and financially to tackle the next hurdle that comes our way. As an enthusiast of positive living, I came across a great little quote that made me stop and think. It was short and simple and stopped me in my tracks. It applies if you are religious or not. “Have you prayed about it as much as you have talked about it?” Um, well…probably not- good point. Imagine how many minutes a day we think and apply our mental energy to worrying about a problem. Problems will always find us. That is life and no one is immune to problems. If you are alive, you are going to have problems; it’s as simple as that.

 

It is all in the way we handle these problems. Imagine if you had to count the minutes of just one day that you were worried about an issue. It pops into your mind over and over throughout the day. If you add up all these minutes, how long have you spent worrying about a certain problem? Fifteen minutes? Thirty minutes? An hour? Or more? Instead of worrying about those problems, it may be best to cut out that middle man of worrying, and spend those minutes or hours with positive thoughts to the situation. If you are a praying type of person, pray every time that thought comes into your mind. It’s all about being proactive instead of being reactive.

 If prayer isn’t your thing, restate the thought that entered your mind and turn it into a positive stream of consciousness. Instead of how am I going to do x, y, and z followed by a series of minutes wasted worrying, rephrase it.  “I am fully equipped and able to handle issues x, y, and z. I will come up with a great solution. A positive outcome is on its way and the answer will come to me, be revealed, etc…” Positive thoughts and words by nature attract positive energy into the situation, while negative thoughts attract negative energy into the situation. Make a conscious choice on how you will spend your minutes and how you think of a situation. Life happens anyway, we have the choice to cut out the middle man – worry- and go straight for a positive solution. Spend those extra minutes doing something you love.

The power of thoughts and words is quite shocking. Japanese Scientist Dr. Masaru Emoto did an experiment on the power of positive thinking on water, proving that it literally changes the structure and health of organic matter. His findings are stunning- as you can see them scientifically for yourself. Take a look at this link and see the photos and the video. It is quote stunning.

 

http://www.positive-thinking-principles.com/dr-masaru-emoto.html

Guides and Redeemers

 

A man is relieved and happy when he has put his heart into his work and done his best; but what he has said and done otherwise, shall give him no peace. It is a deliverance which does not deliver. In the attempt his genius deserts him; no muse must be friends; no invention; no hope.

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

What does it mean to do and being the best in all that we do? We live in a society today that is much different than the fifty years ago, thirty years ago, or even twenty years ago. I grew up in a large extended family in Germany, where it was not just taught, but expected to do ones best. My grandparents held minor league middle working class jobs. My grandmother worked at the military base launderette and my grandfather was lovinging called “the candy man”, as he filled candy and various snack vending machines around the base. I highly doubt that either of these jobs were their ideal dream jobs that they daydreamed about as children, but it was a job and they were proud of the jobs they both did.

Those were the days that people were loyal to their company and stuck around for the long haul, regardless of the position. They were the days that people took pride in what they did, whether it was being a laundry attendant, vending machine filler or flipping burgers at the local snack bar. People took pride in what they did, and did their jobs to the best of their abilities. It was a matter of personal pride.

How often do we go through the drive thru at a fast food restaurant to find the food service worker is less than pleasant, giving the distinct air of how miserable they are to be there? Why should we have to suffer their life choices and their inability to cope with them in a healthy manner? The bottom line is, we shouldn’t. Nor should people take on that attitude. It makes everyone involved miserable. Most of us have to work because it provides us with income that we need to make our living. We have to be at work on average about forty hours a week, more or less. You are there anyway- so why not choose to take pride in what you do and try your best to enjoy it. Whether you are an executive, flipping burgers or anything in between, you have a choice to make the best of any situation. If you work at KFC, be the best at frying chicken so at the end of the day you can have pride knowing that you have done your best. The key is to do your best at whatever you do and wherever you go.

Attitude can take you far- straight to the bottom or straight to the top. They choice is always up to you. People notice your attitude and how they felt being around you. It is ones imperative duty as a member of society to make the right choices and lead by example. Let your life be a message to others and your actions a legacy that others will be inspired to carry on. It does not have to be a grand thing you do, often rest in the simplest of statements of taking pride in the self, doing a good job and being kind. You are responsible for the energy you bring into a room. It is up to you whether you leave the energy better or worse than before you entered it. The good examples of humanity are fading all around us and it is up to us to take on the cause, before everyone forgets what it was like and we live in a world of mediocrity and unhappiness. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “we must accept in the highest mind the same transcendent destiny; and not minors and invalids in a protected corner, not cowards fleeing before a revolution, but guides, redeemers and benefactors, obeying the almighty effort, and advancing on chaos and the Dark.”

Setting Intentions

The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven.

- John Milton

Charge the energy around you and set the intention of the day. It’s always personal choice of how your day and thoughts will proceed. Choose to make it a great day filled with success. The right state of mind is the key to your success or to your demise. It needs to be practiced so often that it becomes a habit.

 

1.      List 5 things you are thankful for every day. We are amongst the wealthiest in the world. Many people would do anything to have what we do- whether it be material possessions or circumstance.

 

2.   Thought of the day: My seeming impossible good now comes to pass, the unexpected now happens!

 

 

3.      Set the intention for the day: Visualization. State and command the kind of day you intend to have. Give it a quick visualization. This may seem silly- but the most successful sports teams in the world are coached in the art of visualization before a game. They visualize their plays and how they intend to win the game. Life is no different. Professional studies show that teams that practice a brief visualization have a higher percentage of successful plays and wins. This is a fact.

 

(Example: Today is going to be a great day. I will be successful in all of my endeavors and live in each and every moment of the day- being fully present and engaging with others.)

 

4.      You are responsible for the energy you bring into a room. This existence is not just all about you- even though it feels like it. You and the energy you bring into a room can either brighten or darken a room. Choose to be the bright energy and engage with others. You never know what they might be going through as well. We tend to get wrapped up in our own inner turmoil.  Kindness is the biggest gift you can give to another. Do something kind for someone else- even if it is just a smile, a positive call or text. Make it a point to do something kind for someone else today.

 

5.      Shake off the negative energy. Negative energy is like lint- sometimes it just attracts to us like when you are wearing black pants- everything seems to attract to them. Negative energy can be the same way. Shake it off.

 

 

 

Light Energy

I evoke thee- the spirit of the law not the letter of it. The ability to see and do, not look and judge. The love that asks for nothing but to give. –P. Telesco

In every religion, in every part of the world, we as human beings tend to believe in something. A higher good, a higher state of consciousness, a divine God, or Gods and Goddesses, something outside of ourselves perpetuating toward the greater good. Some believe in science. It is all energy, and in either realm of belief, we are all composed of energy and so is physical world around us. All energy vibrates with a frequency. Tiny sub particles everywhere we look and everything we are. No matter what we believe, we are all created from the same energy. That being said, much of the world gets caught up in the semantics of what we believe. Much of religion is composed of the thoughts of being right. People want their religion to be right- thus them being right. This is the plight of the ego. Self-validation and the need to be right and the need to win. This is where we lose sight of main point of it all. Let all of that fall by the wayside and what we have left is love. Allowing not only ourselves to live and experience the gift of life, but allow others to live as well. Thus we learn and practice the gift of forgiveness, kindness and love. This is the ultimate ideal- to practice the spirit of the law and not only the letter of it. Through this, we create a love that asks for nothing but to give.

Unconditional love for each other as fellow beings of the same energy. When we are loving of others, we are loving of ourselves. The same goes for when we are hateful toward others, we are hateful toward ourselves. Often those who are destructive need the most kindness and love. It may not always be healthy to have those people a direct part of your life, but you can be there for them indirectly. I know a wise man who told me once, in a discussion of religion, that when he prayed at night, he prayed for his enemies first- anyone who he felt who had wronged him or anyone who he was angry with. Those are the cases that need the greatest resolve. I believe we are all godly, and all beings of light and each of us are capable of the same positive love that radiates directly form the divine source or energy that we all are part of.

I am a light worker,

I awoke so that others may awaken,

I learn so that others may also learn,

I transform so that others may transform,

I lighten my load so others may change theirs,

I learn to see so that others may see,

I forgave myself so that I may help others to forgive,

I love myself so that I can bring out love in others,

I am a light worker,

I live to give comfort,

I live to shine loving light into others,

I live to heal,

I live to give hope,

I live for truth,

I live for love.

1. Think of five things you are grateful to have in your life. There are many. Your health, the fact that you got to wake up one more day, your wealth (there are many with less and would give anything to have what you do), the abundance of love you have in your life (your presence in this world makes a difference to many people), the really cool individual you are (there is no one else in this world like you), How far you have successfully made it in a difficult world and all the stresses that affect us every day.

2. Thought of the day: Man can only receive what he sees himself receiving.

3. Set the intention for the day: Visualization. State and command the kind of day you intend to have. Give it a quick visualization. This may seem silly- but the most successful sports teams in the world are coached in the art of visualization before a game. They visualize their plays and how they intend to win the game. Life is no different. Professional studies show that teams that practice a brief visualization have a higher percentage of successful plays and wins. This is a fact.

(Example: Today is going to be a great day. I will be successful in all of my endeavors and live in each and every moment of the day- being fully present and engaging with others.)

4. You are responsible for the energy you bring into a room. This existence is not just all about you- even though it feels like it. You and the energy you bring into a room can either brighten or darken a room. Choose to be the bright energy and engage with others. You never know what they might be going through as well. We tend to get wrapped up in our own inner turmoil. Kindness is the biggest gift you can give to another. Do something kind for someone else- even if it is just a smile, a positive call or text. Make it a point to do something kind for someone else today.

5. Shake off the negative energy. Negative energy is like lint- sometimes it just attracts to us like when you are wearing black pants- everything seems to attract to them. Negative energy can be the same way. Shake it off.

New Directives

 

 

Everything Begins with You. You are responsible for your life, your choices, your attitude and the energy you allow to radiate from you. Whether that energy is positive or negative, it is your choosing of the vibe you put out and attract back. The mind is a rather complicated entity, yet in the same regard, can be kept simple. When things are put into perspective, the mind goes from a complex thing to a simple and easy to maneuver your life and your actions- stress free and worry free.

 Napoleon Hill quoted, “Whatever your mind feeds on, it attracts.” Consider the content of your mind. What type of thoughts do we allow to occupy the mind? Usually, it seems to be occupied with  worry, doubt, and fear or our personal problems and life issues that come our way. Unfortunately, what most do not realize or consider is that the worry, doubt and fear aspect that we have become accustomed to having in our thoughts more often than not, attract those very things we worry, doubt and fear. Worry, doubt and fear are composed of negative energy frequencies. If lack and limitation of any sort is on your mind- you will more than likely attract lack and limitation.

The mind is a very powerful source of energy. It is a tool that we do not use to its maximum ability. Education and being smart is one thing, but this is training the mind to attract better energy frequencies, which are more likely to yield more positive results. We have the ability to use the mind power to direct it to whatever we may choose. Take possession of the mind instead of letting the mind and its problems take possession of you.

If you have a worry or concern, limit the amount of time those thoughts can occupy your mind. Instead of worrying, being fearful, having thoughts of lack or limitations, replace those thoughts immediately with thoughts of thankfulness and gratitude. The energy around you needs to be stabilized and grounded for a good beginning of positive thought process and a positive frame of mind. First and foremost, give gratitude for what you do have. Many people in this world would trade places with us instantly. I recently read an article from the New York Times for a class about modern slavery and human trafficking. It was in this I gained a huge perspective of my thankfulness and gratitude to be who and where I am in life.

The article was about a young Asian girl who at the age of six years old, was sold by her family to a brothel. At the age of six, she was sold as a commodity to a foreign pedophile as a child virgin. Thinking the nightmare of her life couldn’t get worse, it is common for young children prostitutes to be re-stitched as virgins to be sold again as a prized commodity.  The young girl tried to run away but was caught each time, in which punishment consisted of being put into a vat of human excrement filled with scorpions and spiders. The girl recalls being punished up to nine days in this manner. Things like this are happening in the world this very moment. So there is my personal perspective to give me instant gratitude.

When I am being a spoiled brat for wanting more material things, ways of life, the infinite quest for “more” -perhaps one should focus on the greatness that already surrounds us, the ability sometimes for happiness is just to recognize it. So many people would be willing to trade places with us. We have so much, but lack the ability to recognize it and the ability to be grateful.  This is the foundation upon which happiness and positivity lie. Whenever you have a problem, give thanks first for what is going good in your life. Then, focus on the solution of your problem- without worry, doubt or fear. One of the most important things to do is to give thanks in advance- for the solved problem, the solution or whatever it is you want. This will likely attract those positive energies your way- versus if you were focused on worry fear and doubt, it is those energies that would attract to you. It really is your choice what type of energy or vibe you put out. If it is negative- you will unfortunately attract that right back to you. If it is positive, positive energy will find you more easily. It is all a simple choice of the mind. Doubt, worry, fear, lack, and limitation should have a very limited role in your show. Give the lead role to a positive character. Let only good thoughts possess your mind so that you may be open to attract the good things that are all around you.  Good energies are out there, but they have to be called upon to work for you. Let that be your directive.

Five Dollar Earring Sale!

Did I mention the Five Dollar Earring Sale at my Etsy Shop??

Fleur De Lis Medalion Earrings $5.00



Champaign Pearls Bauble Earrings $5.00

Divine Spark Bauble Earrings $5.00

Perfect timing for stocking stuffers and gifts. All of my items are one of a kind creations and are rarely reproduced, if ever. I am having this huge sale to make way for new items! So grab them up while you can.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/AmbivalentRelics

For what It's worth....

“For what it’s worth: it’s never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There’s no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same; there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you’re proud of. If you find that you’re not, I hope you have the courage to start all over again.”

 

― Eric Roth, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button screenplay

Every moment is a fresh beginning

The Fool finds himself at ground zero of life. But Far from being sad or frustrated by having to start over, however, the fool feels remarkably free, light hearted and refreshed, as if being given a second chance. The fool chooses this state of mind over the alternative.

 

Just as life unfolds with utmost uncertainty at times, the fool has no idea where they're going or what they're going to do. But that doesn't matter. For the Fool, the most important thing is to just go out and enjoy the world. To see what there is to see and delight in all of it. To be present and live in the moment reveling in all of its endless opportunity and beauty.

I wind my Victrola today with a bit of T. S. Eliot and a reminder to live every moment happily and without regret.

The Cocktail Party

-T.S.. Eliot, 1949

It will do you no harm to find yourself ridiculous.
Resign yourself to be the fool you are.
You will find that you survive humiliation
And that's an experience of incalculable value.

That is the worst moment, when you feel you have lost
The desires for all that was most dersirable,
Before you are contented with what you can desire;
Before you know what is left to be desired;
And you go on wishing that you could desire
What desire has left behind. But you cannot understand.
How could you understand what it is to feel old?

We die to each other daily.
What we know of other people
Is only our memory of the moments
During which we knew them. And they have changed since then.
To pretend that they and we are the same
Is a useful and convenient social convention
Which must sometimes broken. We must also remember
That at every meeting we are meeting a stranger.

What is hell? Hell is oneself.
Hell is alone, the other figures in it
Merely projections. There is nothing to escape from
And nothing to escape to. One is always alone.

Half the harm that is done in this world
Is due to people who want to feel important.
They don't mean to do harm — but the harm does not interest them.
Or they do not see it, or they justify it
Because they are absorbed in the endless struggle
To think well of themselves.

There are several symptoms
Which must occur together, and to a marked degree,
To qualify a patient for my sanitorium:
And one of them is an honest mind. That is one of the causes of their suffering.

To men of a certain type
The suspicion that they are incapable of loving
Is as disturbing to their self-esteem
As, in cruder men, the fear of impotence.

I should really like to think there's something wrong with me —
Because, if there isn't then there's something wrong,
Or at least, very different from what it seemed to be,
With the world itself — and that's much more frightening!

Everyone's alone — or so it seems to me.
They make noises, and think they are talking to each other;
They make faces, and think they understand each other.
And I'm sure they don't. Is that a delusion?

Can we only love
Something created in our own imaginations?
Are we all in fact unloving and unloveable?
Then one is alone, and if one is alone
Then lover and beloved are equally unreal
And the dreamer is no more real than his dreams.

I shall be left with the inconsolable memory
Of the treasure I went into the forest to find
And never found, and which was not there
And is perhaps not anywhere? But if not anywhere
Why do I feel guilty at not having found it?

Disillusion can become itself an illusion
If we rest in it.

Two people who know they do not understand each other,
Breeding children whom they do not understand
And who will never understand them.

There is another way, if you have the courage.
The first I could describe in familiar terms
Because you have seen it, as we all have seen it,
Illustrated, more or less, in lives of those about us.
The second is unknown, and so requires faith —
The kind of faith that issues from despair.
The destination cannot be described;
You will know very little until you get there;
You will journey blind. But the way leads towards possession
Of what you have sought for in the wrong place.

We must always take risks. That is our destiny.

If we all were judged according to the consequences
Of all our words and deeds, beyond the intention
And beyond our limited understanding
Of ourselves and others, we should all be condemned.

Only by acceptance of the past will you alter its meaning.

Every moment is a fresh beginning.

Free Your Mind

Here is a small expert from a Buddhist view on detachment. It is always our attachments in life that cause us the greatest pains, miseries, and sufferings; such as:

·       The object of our desire that we cannot attain or keep, whether they be material possessions or otherwise.

·       Unrequited love.

·       The disappointment of relationships- family, friends, lovers.

·       Unmet demands of people or situations.

·       When things don’t pan out the way we wanted them to.

 The word and concept of detachment can be misleading, as it denotes being free of all things, possessions and relationships- when that is not the case at all. The concept and implementation of detachment releases us from our Ego and allows the freedoms of negative emotions that attachments always keep us in that constant state of emotional rollercoasters- somewhere between happiness and disappointment.

 

Question: What is the meaning of detachment?

Answer: The Buddhist meaning of detachment is slightly different from what the word normally means in English. Detachment in Buddhism is connected with renunciation. The word renunciation in English is also misleading, for it implies that we have to give up everything and go live in a cave. Although there are examples of people like Milarepa who did give up everything and live in a cave, what they did is referred to by a different word, not the word that is translated as "renunciation" or "detachment". The word that has been translated as "renunciation" actually means "the determination to be free". We have a strong determination: "I must get out of my own problems and difficulties. My mind is totally firm on that goal." We want to give up our ego games because we are determined to be free from all the problems they cause. This does not mean that we have to give up a comfortable house or the things that we enjoy. Rather, we are trying to stop the problems that we have in relation to these objects. That leads us to detachment.

Being detached does not mean that we cannot enjoy anything or enjoy being with anyone. Rather, it refers to the fact that clinging very strongly to anything or anyone causes us problems. We become dependent on that object or person and think, "If I lose it or cannot always have it, I am going to be miserable." Detachment means, "If I get the food I like, very nice. If I do not get it, okay. It is not the end of the world." There is no attachment or clinging to it.

In modern psychology, the word attachment has a positive connotation in certain contexts. It refers to the bonding that occurs between a child and parent. Psychologists say that if a child does not have the initial attachment to the parents, there will be difficulties in the child's development. Again, it is problematic to find the appropriate English word to convey the Buddhist meaning, for the Buddhist connotation of attachment is quite specific. When the Buddhist teachings instruct that we need to develop detachment, it does not mean that we do not want to develop the child-parent bond. What is meant by "detachment" is ridding ourselves of clinging and craving for something or someone.

VIA- http://www.berzinarchives.com/web/en/archives/approaching_buddhism/introduction/basic_question_detachment_nonviolence_compassion.html

 

Hierarchy of Needs

 

 

"What a man can be, he must be. This need we may call self-actualization…It refers to the desire for self-fulfillment, namely, to the tendency for him to become actualized in what he is potentially. This tendency might be phrased as the desire to become more and more what one is, to become everything that one is capable of becoming." – Abraham Maslow

Hierarchy of Needs

The Five Levels of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

In 1943 Psychologist Abraham Maslow wrote a paper entitled "A Theory of Human Motivation", which led to his book Motivation and Personality. His hierarchy suggests that people are motivated to fulfill basic needs before moving on to other, more advanced needs. If a need is not met, it is likely that the individual will continue to be detached from happiness.

This hierarchy is most often displayed as a pyramid. The lowest levels of the pyramid are made up of the most basic needs, while the more complex needs are located at the top of the pyramid. Needs at the bottom of the pyramid are basic physical requirements including the need for food, water, sleep, and warmth. Once these lower-level needs have been met, people can move on to the next level of needs, which are for safety and security.

As people progress up the pyramid, needs become increasingly psychological and social. Soon, the need for love, friendship, and intimacy become important. Further up the pyramid, the need for personal esteem and feelings of accomplishment take priority. Like Carl Rogers, Maslow emphasized the importance of self-actualization, which is a process of growing and developing as a person in order to achieve individual potential.

Five Levels of the Hierarchy of Needs

1.      Physiological Needs
These include the most basic needs that are vital to survival, such as the need for water, air, food, and sleep. Maslow believed that these needs are the most basic and instinctive needs in the hierarchy because all needs become secondary until these physiological needs are met.

2.      Security Needs
These include needs for safety and security. Security needs are important for survival, but they are not as demanding as the physiological needs. Examples of security needs include a desire for steady employment, health insurance, safe neighborhoods, and shelter from the environment.  

3.      Social Needs
These include needs for belonging, love, and affection. Maslow considered these needs to be less basic than physiological and security needs. Relationships such as friendships, romantic attachments, and families help fulfill this need for companionship and acceptance, as does involvement in social, community, or religious group.

4.      Esteem Needs
After the first three needs have been satisfied, esteem needs becomes increasingly important. These include the need for things that reflect on self-esteem, personal worth, social recognition, and accomplishment.

5.      Self-actualizing Needs
This is the highest level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Self-actualizing people are self-aware, concerned with personal growth, less concerned with the opinions of others, and interested fulfilling their potential.

Characteristics of Self-Actualized People

In addition to describing what is meant by self-actualization in his theory, Maslow also identified some of the key characteristics of self-actualized people:

·        Acceptance and Realism: Self-actualized people have realistic perceptions of themselves, others and the world around them.

·        Problem-centering: Self-actualized individuals are concerned with solving problems outside of themselves, including helping others and finding solutions to problems in the external world. These people are often motivated by a sense of personal responsibility and ethics.

·        Spontaneity: Self-actualized people are spontaneous in their internal thoughts and outward behavior. While they can conform to rules and social expectations, they also tend to be open and unconventional.

·        Autonomy and Solitude: Another characteristic of self-actualized people is the need for independence and privacy. While they enjoy the company of others, these individuals need time to focus on developing their own individual potential.

·        Continued Freshness of Appreciation: Self-actualized people tend to view the world with a continual sense of appreciation, wonder and awe. Even simple experiences continue to be a source of inspiration and pleasure.

·        Peak Experiences: Individuals who are self-actualized often have what Maslow termed peak experiences, or moments of intense joy, wonder, awe and ecstasy. After these experiences, people feel inspired, strengthened, renewed or transformed.

http://psychology.about.com/od/theoriesofpersonality/a/hierarchyneeds.htm