We All Have Needs

Over the years, there has been numerous studies done on human behavior, what motivates people, how people reach their full potential to achieve life fulfillment and happiness. Those studies became theories. Recent studies revealed that 76% of people feel stuck in their personal life and 75% feel stuck in their professional life. There is one theory dating back to the 1940’s which, I believe, explains why people still feel stuck. That theory is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Simply put, this theory suggests that we have “stages of needs”.  Each stage must be met before a person can move up to the next stage. The “needs” stages are: Basic, Safety, Relationship, Esteem, Self-Actualization. The goal is to have all your needs met until you reach self-actualization. Self-actualization is the realization or fulfillment of one's talents and potentialities, especially considered as a drive or need present in everyone. Let me explain further, the very bottom stage is Basic needs. We need food, water, and shelter literally to survive. If we don’t have food, we are only concerned with and driven to find food. Moreover, we will sacrifice security and safety (security and safety being the second stage) to find that food.  It is my hopes that everyone reading this has food, water, and shelter. However, It is my opinion, that it is the second stage, safety and security, where so many get stuck. Let me take this to the workplace to explain. If you’re in the American workforce, you are probably striving to reach self-actualization. The first stage, Basic needs, are met as you have food, water, and shelter. That said, you can step up to the safety and security stage. This is where the trouble starts. For countless reasons, many don’t feel safe at work or there is a feeling instability and a lack of security. Because this level is not met it will hold a person back from getting to the next stage, Relationship. Their drive is solely focused on trying to feel safe and secure. Depending on how insecure the person feels this could even lead to paranoia about co-works and create a complete sense of mistrust. The root cause of the feeling of instability must be determined and resolved before moving on toward the quest for self-actualization. The feeling of insecurity could be caused from many different things. It could be because in general the person had low self-esteem which has nothing to do with work or it could be rooted in past trauma. It could also be because there are rumors going around work about looming layoffs, company bankruptcy, or a multitude of other company issues or company politics which is causing the insecure feeling. Whatever the cause, this feeling most likely will cause a person to self-preserve, be untrusting of others, have a suspicious mind, worries and stress. This in turn hinders a person from moving up to the next stage, Relationship, to develop healthy work-place relationships. The same is true in personal life. If an individual doesn’t feel safe and secure in a relationship, that relationship will not be healthy, and it will prevent that person from stepping up to the next stage. This is just one example of being stuck on the ladder of hierarchy of needs. To get “unstuck”, a person must determine what stage of “need” is not being met. Once that is figured out, finding a way to meet that need must be determined. Once that need is met the person can then step up to the next stage toward happiness and fulfillment. The amazing thing about being a believer in Jesus Christ is that, inherently with Christ, all these needs are met. Philippians 4:19, “My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”  It is up to the believer, however, to ask, seek and knock.