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| https://www.boundless.com/management/organizational-behavior/employee-needs-and-motivation/hierarchy-of-needs-maslow--2/ |
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When
psychology asked “What specific motives influence behaviour?”, a man
named Abraham Maslow answered it with a hierarchy of needs. The basic
needs (physiological, safety, social) lying near the bottom of the
hierarchy must at least be partially satisfied before moving on to meet
the higher level of growth needs (esteem, self-actualization)
(Villavicencio & Crisostomo, 2006). He
even studied what he called exemplary people like Albert Einstein and
Eleanor Roosevelt rather than mentally ill people, writing that studying
the handicapped, retards and the likes will only result to detrimental
psychology and philosophy (Maslow, 1954).
Then again, Maslow needs to see how the following people amazingly satisfied their growth needs despite not having met some of the basic needs. Because it did not matter who they were, what mattered was how great they made themselves despite what Maslow deemed necessity. After all, life is what you make it.
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| http://www.teslasociety.com/pictures/pic1.jpg |
Nikola Tesla is the genius behind the alternating
current system of electricity which the world is using today (Tesla
Memorial Society of New York, 1998). But Tesla died a virgin, saying his
chastity was very helpful with his scientific abilities (Why Nikola
Tesla was the greatest geek who ever lived, 2013). He spent years
working day and night alone in his laboratory. He died alone, broke and
in debt. But did these things hinder him from fulfilling his potentials?
Definitely not! He lived doing so much for the world. He was very
ambitious- and boy, did he pull off these ambitions!
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| http://sheridanvoysey.com/003-the-nick-vujicic-interview-podcast/ |
Nick
Vujicic was born with tetra-amelia syndrome, causing him to lose all
his four limbs (Mail Foreign Service, 2009). You could say he has no
security of his body and many people laughed at him. But this man is a
Christian evangelist, a motivational speaker, a husband and a father. He
goes around the world teaching about life and its miracles.
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Stephen Hawking is theoretical physicist, cosmologist, former Lucasian professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge, best-selling author and a survivor of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Stephen Hawking, 2013).
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| http://www.fansshare.com/news/glee-s-lauren-potter-teases-becky-plot/ |
Lauren Potter is best known as Becky Jackson, a cheerleader with Down Syndrome in Glee (Wang, 2011).
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Helen Keller is the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor’s Degree, author, political activist and lecturer (American Foundation for the Blind, 2013).
Therefore, each and every person, handicapped or not, whoever they may be, is capable of self-actualization. No matter who they are there is always the threat of something fearful and those things are inevitable. And it’s not only these deficiencies in physical, mental or social health that cripple a person; he may also be crippled by his experiences no matter how healthy he may be. It’s either you give up or you continue pursuing self-actualization. Humans live and die. Therefore, what matters is the meaning you give to the dash between your birth and death in your tombstone. Some want to be remembered. Some just want to leave a legacy, no remembering required, they just die anonymously. There really is something bigger than oneself that motivates him to live no matter what the circumstances may be, no matter how the odds are not ever in his favor. And that something is to make something good that will contribute to the betterment of the humanity regardless of what you are and who you may be.
So Maslow, here's to you,
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| http://www.teachthought.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/einstein.jpg |
SOURCES:
Maslow's hierarchy of needs. [Online image] (n.d.). Retrieved December 15, 2013 from https://www.boundless.com/management/organizational-behavior/employee-needs-and-motivation/hierarchy-of-needs-maslow--2/
Maslow, A. (1954). Motivation and personality. New York, NY: Harper.
Abraham H. Maslow. [Photograph] (n.d.). Retrieved December 17, 2013 from
http://www.poorwilliam.net/al-040112.html
Villavicencio, F. T., and Crisostomo, A. (2006). General Psychology. Bulacan, Philippines: El Bulakeno Printing House.
Tesla Memorial Society of New York. (1998). Nikola Tesla: The genius who lit the world. Retrieved December 16, 2013 from http://www.teslasociety.com/biography.htm
Why Nikola Tesla was the greatest geek who ever lived. (2013). Retrieved November 4, 2013 from http://theoatmeal.com/comics/tesla
Mail Foreign Service. (2009,
July 1). Life without limb-its: The astonishing story of the man born
without arms or legs… who plays golf, surfs, and swims. Mail Online. Retrieved December 15, 2013 from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1196755/The-astonishing-story-man-born-arms-legs--world-famous-swimmer-surfer-footballer.html
Stephen Hawking. [Photograph] (n.d.). Retrieved December 15, 2013 from http://www.hawking.org.uk/images.html
Stephen Hawking. (2013). Retrieved December 15, 2013 from http://www.hawking.org.uk/about-stephen.html
Wang, C. (2011, February 22). Glee’s Lauren Potter: I am still bullied for being different. People. Retrieved December 15, 2013 from http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20468121,00.html
Portrait of Helen Keller. [Photograph] (n.d.). Retrieved December 16, 2013 from http://www.afb.org/section.aspx?FolderID=1&SectionID=1&TopicID=129
American Foundation for the Blind. (2013). Helen Keller Biography and Chronology. Retrieved December 15, 2013 from http://www.afb.org/section.aspx?FolderID=1&SectionID=1&TopicID=129
Albert Einstein. [Photograph] (n.d.). Retrieved
December 16, 2013 from http://www.teachthought.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/einstein.jpg
