Simply put, I coach my clients on the aspects of their personal and professional lives in which they want to experience not just improvement, but true fulfillment and optimization. This can range from career, personal growth and self-realization, relationships, money and health (physical and mental fitness).
Many of my clients embark on their tailored individual coaching program with me focused on excellence in their career and personal growth. Some are CEOs of large companies and want to improve and develop their communication and leadership skills, others are entrepreneurs and want to gain awareness and key insights on how they can improve their impact, effectiveness and productivity . And some of my clients are looking to improve their level of self-confidence and courage to fully realize their true potential in all areas of their lives.
What is true for everyone – regardless of their initial area of interest – is that there is always something deeper and more fundamental that needs to be addressed to facilitate true transformation. The Motivational Theory of Psychological Health – The Hierarchy of Needs (1943) by American psychologist Abraham Harold Maslow can help illustrate why.
The hierarchy of needs is predicted on satisfying five innate human needs as a priority, resulting in self-actualization. Needs lower in the hierarchy (physiological and safety needs) must be met before individuals can attend to higher needs. From the bottom of the hierarchy, the needs are: physiological, safety, love and belonging, esteem and self-actualization. . The first four levels are often called needs deficiencies (D-needs), and the top level is known as growth or being needs (B-needs).
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
It’s true that we can climb the pyramid without fully satisfy the lower needs of belonging, love and esteem. Yet the deprivation of these lower needs makes the motivation to satisfy them stronger the more they are denied. For example, the longer a person goes without love and belonging, the more alone they feel (1) and are therefore more likely to suffer its harmful effects. Unfortunately, too often people wait too long and try to ignore the motivation needed to meet their lower needs until side effects such as anxiety, burnout, depression, self-doubt, loneliness sets in. This is why, even when you have a nice house, good performance at work, surrounded by good colleagues, etc., you can still feel alone and empty and feel overwhelmed without really understanding why.
Now that the second lockdown is in effect in the UK, pay attention to this pyramid and think about what would happen if you addressed the areas of your life that might need a little attention. Even small changes can lead to giant steps on the path to fulfillment and self-realization. Ask yourself what would happen if you continue to ignore your needs? What would your life be like if you met your needs and had them met? Take the time to write about each need that you believe is currently unmet, what you need to do, and who you need to be to meet it.
And as always, if you need help, use the sign-up area on my homepage to book a sample coaching session with me. I’m here to help you thrive.
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The original five-step hierarchy of needs model includes:
Maslow (1943, 1954) stated that people are motivated to satisfy certain needs and that some needs take precedence over others.
Our most basic need is physical survival, and this will be the first thing that motivates our behavior. Once this level is reached, the next level is what motivates us, and so on.
- Physiological needs: these are the biological needs necessary for human survival, for example air, food, drink, shelter, clothing, warmth, sex, sleep. If these needs are not met, the human body cannot function optimally. Maslow considered physiological needs to be the most important, because all other needs become secondary until they are satisfied.
- Security needs: Once an individual’s physiological needs are met, safety and security needs become salient. People want order, predictability, and control in their lives. These needs can be met by family and society (e.g. police, schools, businesses and medical care). For example, emotional security, financial security (e.g. employment, social protection), public order, freedom from fear, social stability, property, health and well-being (e.g. example, safety against accidents and injuries).
- Needs for love and belonging – once physiological and safety needs are met, the third level of human needs is social and involves a sense of belonging. The need for interpersonal relationships motivates behavior. Examples include friendship, intimacy, trust and acceptance, receiving and giving affection and love. Join, be part of a group (family, friends, work).
- Esteem needs are the fourth level of Maslow’s hierarchy – which Maslow classified into two categories: (i) self-esteem (dignity, achievement, mastery, independence) and (ii) the desire for reputation or respect from others (for example, status, prestige). Maslow indicated that the need for respect or reputation is most important for children and adolescents and precedes true self-esteem or dignity.
- Self-actualization needs are the highest level of Maslow’s hierarchy and refer to the realization of a person’s potential, personal fulfillment, the pursuit of personal growth and peak experiences. Maslow (1943) describes this level as the desire to achieve everything one can, to become the best one can be. Individuals may perceive or focus on this need in a very specific way. For example, a person may have a strong desire to become an ideal parent. In others, the desire can be expressed on an economic, academic or sporting level. For others, it may be expressed creatively, in paintings, pictures or inventions.