5 Minute Therapies: Potential

The final tier of Maslow’s hierarchy considers our self-actualisation needs. If you’re not psycho-savvi or up to speed with the jargon of the field then the term ‘self-actualisation’ won’t mean much to you.

We can sum this up by saying that invokves realising & achieving our full potential. With that in mind, and given that we have asserted that we need to have satisfied each element of the hierarchy of needs before we can meaningfully attempt to fulfil higher order needs – needs in the tiers above – this seems like a good time to review our progress through the tiers below to make sure we have everything we need to attempt to reach our full potential.

The first four episodes of this series focused on the most basic of our needs which appear in tier 1 of the pyramid pictured above:

1. Tiers 1 & 2: These focused on our basic needs – the things we all share an intrinsic needs for. First of all, things we need to survive such as food & water, sleep & rest, and then on to security, health & the resources needed provide for ourselves such as enough money to live on.
2. Tiers 3 & 4: These focus firstly on our relationships with others as well as ourselves. These are our Esteem needs – our need to value & love ourselves in a way that cultivates resilience and promotes good health. It recognises that humans are built to connect, we depend on it and can thrive in healthy relationships, whilst also recognising our need to be independent and self-supporting. It is a fine balance & one that needs constant attention & maintenance but one that pays great dividends when we get it right.
3. Tier 5 is our next stop. One that we will visit in the weeks ahead.

If you have worked through the other elements in each tier so far I would encourage you to regularly review these. The process is not linear or one-way – You can move up & down through the hierarchy at any time. For example, You may have done very well in proceeding towards tier 5 but then, apparently out of the blue, you lose your job for whatever reason. Suddenly your finances aren’t as secure as they once were and your ability to meet your basic needs is constrained & there can be all sorts of other consequences, like relationship troubles that follow.

When something like this happens it is clearly a backwards step, perhaps through no fault of our own. We need to be prepared to take a step-back, assess our needs and be able to work back through them to succeed in overcoming life’s challenges.

In short then, if even if we reach our full potential it isn’t the end of the road for us. Progress and good health needs constant maintenance and attention and there will be times when we need to rebuild.

If you would like to talk about mental health issues, whether it be for yourself or someone you know feel free to contact BroadMinds Therapy for help & advice. Call (+353) 0899420568, email help@broadmindstherapy.org , message us via this website, or visit our facebook page http://www.facebook,com/jpbroad for more information.

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