Imagine this: Lately, work doesn't flow like usual — you’re unmotivated and struggle to prioritize tasks. Something’s out of whack, but you’re not sure what.
To recalibrate, you recall a time when you felt focused and productive. You contributed fantastic ideas in brainstorming sessions, left work feeling a sense of accomplishment and belonging, and found it easy to complete at-home obligations.
Chances are, this self-reflection showcases a time when your needs were being met — both by yourself and external sources.
Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a psychological theory that outlines the basic requirements for a happy and fulfilled life. Understanding how to balance each of these needs might help you organize your life in a more meaningful way.
What’s Maslow's hierarchy of needs?
Abraham Maslow developed his hierarchy of needs (or motivational hierarchy) to explain human motivation. He presented this theory in a 1943 paper published in Psychological Review titled "A Theory of Human Motivation," and then further developed the idea in his 1954 book, "Motivation and Personality."
Maslow’s hierarchy focuses on the conditions necessary for well-rounded health and happiness. He was a humanist who believed that people have infinite potential for growth and development. But to act freely and take control of your destiny, you must first satisfy a hierarchy of basic human needs:
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Physiological
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Safety
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Love and belonging
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Esteem
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Self-actualization
All five needs are structured like a pyramid, with number one (physiological) at the bottom and number five (self-actualization) at the top. The size of each pyramid section (number one being the largest, number five being the smallest) showcases the hierarchy and importance of each need.
You must satisfy more necessary needs first before you can satisfy less crucial ones. And according to Maslow, meeting all five needs is the key to unlocking your full potential and living a fulfilling life.
Deficiency versus growth needs
The first three levels of Maslow’s pyramid are deficiency needs, and the last two are growth needs. And Maslow hypothesized that you must meet deficiency needs before accomplishing growth needs.
Applying this theory to physical and mental burnout, you feel so drained because you’re not meeting your most basic needs. Maybe you’re not eating enough because you’re overworking, or your sleep schedule is suffering because you must work two jobs to feel financially secure.
To meet your growth needs, like feeling confident and motivated at work, you need to first satisfy your physiological needs, like eating and sleeping well.
Diving into Maslow's 5 needs
To help you balance your life and prioritize your well-being, let’s further explore the five levels of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
1. Physiological needs
These are your most basic requirements for survival, like your need for:
- Food
- Water
- Shelter
- Clothing (protection)
- Sleep
Physiological needs may seem so basic that you don’t check in on them. But if you're feeling sluggish and unmotivated, consider auditing your sleep schedule, diet and exercise habits, and even your home office set-up to ensure it’s comfortable.
2. Safety needs
Once you’ve met your physiological needs, your body and mind require stability and security. This includes feeling financially, physically, and mentally safe. Meeting these needs differs from person to person, so consider what makes you feel calm and protected.
That might be owning a house or having a retirement fund. Or it might mean having partners and friends you can count on.
3. Love and belonging needs
This level refers to your social needs, like loving and accepting relationships and communities where you belong. You might fulfill this level by forming healthy:
- Friendships
- Workplace relationships
- Partnerships
- Family dynamics
- Social groups, like joining a club or industry networking group
- Community groups, like attending church or volunteering
Social health, where you feel loved and like you belong, is essential to your happiness. You gain a community of like-minded people who validate your feelings and encourage you to grow, and that experience can make you feel more purposeful and fulfilled.
Without this connection, you might experience the adverse effects of social isolation, like depression, anxiety, and decreased motivation.
This is why collaborative workplace dynamics are so important. You spend a lot of time with your coworkers, which is an excellent opportunity to foster this social health. To do so, you can try to make friends at work, show your gratitude by saying thank you, and celebrate others' wins.
4. Esteem needs
Once you’ve met your deficiency needs, you can fulfill your growth needs, like building your self-esteem. Some ways you might meet this need include:
- Having loved ones recognize your efforts and positive qualities
- Gaining respect from industry professionals
- Feeling competent in personal and professional skills
Feeling comfortable with who you are and confident in your capabilities is key to taking risks, putting yourself out there, and tackling daunting objectives — all of which lead to more accomplishments you can feel great about. And awards and public recognition can boost your self-worth and help you tackle imposter syndrome to enjoy further confidence in your abilities.
5. Self-actualization needs
Self-actualization in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs represents the highest level of fulfillment. Satisfying this final need category might include the following:
The best way to self-actualize is to gain self-awareness regarding what you — individually — want out of life once you’ve met all your other needs. Highly self-actualized people worry less about others’ opinions and more about finding their calling and dedicating themselves to things they love.
Why is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs important today?
Maslow’s theory represents a shared human experience. From the foundational need for shelter to the desire to connect with one’s most authentic self, everyone understands the importance of striving for a meaningful and fulfilling life.
This also means no one is exempt from the adverse effects of having unmet needs. Here are a few examples:
- Physiological: When your basic needs for physical health and shelter aren’t met, you risk your well-being — and sometimes your life.
- Safety and security: Worries about making rent, saving enough for retirement, and feeling physically unsafe can cause fear and anxiety.
- Love and belonging: If you feel like you don’t belong or lack meaningful social connections, you may feel lonely or develop antisocial behaviors.
- Esteem: Putting in the work and not receiving recognition could make you feel insignificant, invisible, or unappreciated. And this experience might make you doubt your value.
- Self-actualization: Not pursuing meaningful objectives might make you feel purposeless, lost, and unmotivated.
3 additions to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
In the 1970s, Maslow added three more needs to his original hierarchy. The first two sit between esteem and self-actualization, and the last one follows self-actualization:
- Cognitive needs regard exploring your curiosities and pursuing further knowledge
- Aesthetic needs cover your appreciation for beauty, balance, and form
- Transcendence needs involve seeking peak experiences, like spiritual, nature-based, and service-based connections
Criticisms of Maslow’s theory
Although Maslow’s theory was foundational to developmental psychology, here are a few criticisms of his hierarchy of needs:
- Needs don’t follow a strict hierarchy: Researchers Louis Tay and Ed Diener tested a global sample of people from varied social backgrounds and disproved the existence of different levels of needs. For example, they found that a lack of financial security in your career doesn’t necessarily cancel out your ability to belong to a community, demonstrate gratitude, or have confidence in your professional abilities.
- He studied a small sample size: Maslow based a significant part of his theorizing on highly subjective biographical analysis, examining the lives of people like Albert Einstein and Beethoven. His analysis contained a small portion of women, lower social classes, and ethnicities, and this small-and-biased sample size means his theory might not apply to everyone.
- The theory is hard to prove: Testing Maslow’s theory is difficult, as studies depend on self-reported testimonies of need-fulfillment. And self-reporting can lead to inconsistencies, misrepresentations, and falsifications.
Prioritize your needs
Despite the difficulty of testing the hierarchical aspect of Maslow's theory, understanding Maslow’s hierarchy of needs might help you identify areas in your life where you’re not prioritizing yourself. If nothing else, the theory invites self-reflection.
Check in with yourself about what your needs are — they might not be part of Maslow's hierarchy — and whether they’re being met, by yourself and external sources. If not, make adjustments, like prioritizing better sleep or joining a community gym to make friends.
In time, you might feel like you’re living a more purposeful and well-rounded life, one you can audit occasionally to ensure you feel satisfied.
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