Maslow's characteristics of self-actualizers

so i am auditing a class called Society, Science, Survival: Lessons from AMC's The Walking Dead and came across a section on abraham maslow's classic heirarchy of needs , which i'm sure all of us with a passing interest in psychology are already familiar with. one part in particular caught my eye, tho. his characteristics of self actualized people, which are:

1. They perceive reality efficiently and can tolerate uncertainty;
2. Accept themselves and others for what they are;
3. Spontaneous in thought and action;
4. Problem-centered (not self-centered);
5. Unusual sense of humor;
6. Able to look at life objectively;
7. Highly creative;
8. Resistant to enculturation, but not purposely unconventional;
9. Concerned for the welfare of humanity;
10. Capable of deep appreciation of basic life-experience;
11. Establish deep satisfying interpersonal relationships with a few people;
12. Peak experiences;
13. Need for privacy;
14. Democratic attitudes;
15. Strong moral/ethical standards.

some of the behaviors leading to self-actualization he listed were:

(a) Experiencing life like a child, with full absorption and concentration;
(b) Trying new things instead of sticking to safe paths;
(c) Listening to your own feelings in evaluating experiences instead of the voice of tradition, authority or the majority;
(d) Avoiding pretense ('game playing') and being honest;
(e) Being prepared to be unpopular if your views do not coincide with those of the majority;
(f) Taking responsibility and working hard;
(g) Trying to identify your defenses and having the courage to give them up.

how many of these applies to you guys? i'm not gonna say how many apply to me!

If I'm being honest with myself the whole list applies (which felt a bit eery)...but it seems (at least to me) that that list can be applied to most if not all of our members of a year or more in its entirety....

Desolous wrote: how many of these applies to you guys? i'm not gonna say how many apply to me!

I am comfortable providing the knowledge that almost all of these apply to me, and I am quite perplexed as to why you share such a thing yet you do not reveal the answers of yourself to others. :huh:

Lol. I was having this conversation with a client on Monday, she had this to say via email later on:

Oh here come in on the rainbow fumes of 'positive vibes'
The walking holy grails of wisdom passing through
Embiggening 'positivity' by sanitizing humanity.

If this is self-actualisation in the flesh
Maslow can get stuffed.


I dont know if she actually wrote it (shes a writer so possible) or found it somewhere but I had to laugh.



- If you wont tell, why should we

I fit that list quite well. Some small discrepancies exist here and there, but I'm working on those.

Brenna wrote: Embiggening 'positivity' by sanitizing humanity.

i didnt say so as not to flavor initially the responses. humans have a tendency to follow the herd, or at least say they do. if the initial response was 'this list is rubbish' following responses would have reflected that, and similarly if the initial response was 'oh awesome, this is me to a t'.

and i like your friends use of 'embiggen', which is a perfectly cromulent word.

Playing Solitaire
* there is the goal of trying to get the cards all in one ultimate arrangement
* there is the experience of playing by one’s self and simply being with ones self
free of the desire for a particular outcome
actually being with Self
Solitaire (1)

what if the list of 21 were printed out
what if the printer . . .
read each item slowly while listening to the printers pulses
1. sometimes
2. frequently
3. not as much as i would like
4. this annoys me and i don’t know why

what if maybe the response were recorded by each line item
what if the paper were folded up and put in a sealed envelope
what if a year later a fresh list were taken in hand
what if this were done each year

Solitaire (2)

what if?

the one line item that seemed most unlike the reader, were taken into contemplation

If the Force is in everything and everywhere. . .
i will to see the means and ways that
i would hold this thought apart from me?

Desolous wrote:

Brenna wrote: Embiggening 'positivity' by sanitizing humanity.

i didnt say so as not to flavor initially the responses. humans have a tendency to follow the herd, or at least say they do. if the initial response was 'this list is rubbish' following responses would have reflected that, and similarly if the initial response was 'oh awesome, this is me to a t'.

and i like your friends use of 'embiggen', which is a perfectly cromulent word.

Trust me bro if I encounter something I don't like or don't agree with I'll certainly so so....even if it makes me look like an@$$hole :woohoo: ...embiggen? Cromulent?...are these even english? :laugh:

Very interesting,

I would say all of them but I couldn't figure out what peak experiences actually means.

The one I am working on right now is trying to identify my defenses and having the courage to give them up. I find this very difficult. I can identify them but it is very difficult to give them up.

If you have any suggestions I would love to hear them.

Jayden
...
/|\

I'm glad you've started this thread, Des! I've been trying to think of something, myself, because I'm enjoying it so much!

As for myself, I don't think I'm fully self-actualized. As far as the characteristics are concerned, there are some days that are better than others, as for most things, but over all.. I'm not there. I would say "5", "9", and "13" are some of the stronger ones.
As for the behaviors... "a", "f", and "g" are the ones I need the most work on.

However, I realize and know I'm not self-actualized.. that has to count for something, right? lol