Self-Actualization Maybe the Answer to Life Goals
Self-Actualization Maybe the Answer to Life Goals because it addresses what we want most out of life. Most people are seeking happiness and recently many have said work/life balance. Now more people are saying they want to thrive and not just survive.
Happiness and Gratitude are measures of our current state of mind. In my books Happiness and Gratitude, I show how we can have both every day. I grew up thinking that we were only entitled to happiness after achieving some accepted goals created mostly by cultural standards. My daughters and their peers decided they wanted happiness right away without waiting. They wanted to be happy in the process.
We Set Up the Right Daily Processes
The process we create determines if we are thriving. The best process for thriving is self-actualization. Arhtur Maslow created the famous pyramid with survival layers at the bottom leading up to the pinnacle of self-actualization. Life has changed since the 1960’s but his concept still holds water. It can be looked at through a biological basis of happiness.
Modern advertisers want us to think that buying their products creates happiness. We have come to believe that accumulation is a sign of happiness, but maybe we are just trying to convince people that we must be happy because of the lifestyle we can afford. How bad could my life be if I have a nice home, nice car, stylish clothes, good vacations, and a nice watch.
Do We Create a Trap by What We Seek?
Current incomes allow many to have all of these economic markers but they also increase our need for income to support the image and lifestyle we have created. Are we then under pressure to perform at work to manage our lifestyle and future expectations or are we managing our contribution to create our value that others will gladly support.
Self-actualization is about growth. It so happens that happiness brain chemicals designed into our DNA stimulate the feelings we want for the right thoughts, intentions, and behaviors. Learning, creating, caring, protecting, collaborating, sharing, contributing, and exercise all stimulate the hormones and neurotransmitters that can lead to passions.
What makes life more exciting than passions? It is hard to hold back a passionate person. They have resilience, drive, enthusiasm, optimism, and charisma. Extreme athletes as described by Stephen Kotler in his book The Rise of Superman as people engaged in “flow”. He says people in flow are the happiest people in the world.
Challenge That is Not Overwhelming is a Secret of Happy Growth
Extreme athletes are engaged in risky challenges usually involving Nature. They have to learn, prepare, and then drop into danger to experience what they describe as bliss. Dean Cotter, soloist rock climber says he risks his life for the feelings he experiences, not to get on top rocks. This is thriving.
Can we be “all in” to find out who we are and live our purpose? Flow is achieved, says Kotler, by pushing our capabilities by just 4%. We engage in something in which we already know the mechanics and risk failure by trying to be a little better. In the process, the brain shuts down the prefrontal cortex which is the source of self-judgment and self-criticism. We engage with all our power to reach for something exciting.
Speakers, athletes, entertainers, artists, surgeons, teachers, and entrepreneurs all understand engaging in a passion without fear and reaching peak performances. We can have a life that flows by setting out routines and habits that pursue growth.
You can limit a cars performance by putting limiters in the carburation that control fuel flow. You can limit your life with too much doubt, worry, boring routines, and time wasting activities not to mention destructive abusive habits.
Time Blocks Are Great for Scheduling Growth and Performance
One secret for optimizing performance is creating time blocks for the most productive activities during your highest energy hours. Scheduling the most productive activities daily so they become a default leads to more productive and satisfying days.
I start my day with meditating, then have my tea coffee and smoothie while I write. I then work on the most productive activity for learning such as mastering zoom or other technologies that might help me share. I might work on presentations for conveying my ideas to audiences. Then I exercise with walking, biking, surfing (I live on the beach). After that I work on the most productive next activities and shuffle the least important and “to-do-list” to last.
My days always include growth, health, fitness, sharing, and contribution. These stimulate dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins. These are the happiness brain chemicals Nature gifted us for engaging in the right behaviors. I do not have to shop, overeat, get angry, surf the web, look at my phone and countless other activities to optimize my happiness.
With the right daily habits set in time blocks we automatically improve our value and contribution. We finish each day with the comment that was a good day and I can’t wait for tomorrow. Thriving is feeling our days are purposeful and build who we are.
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Great practices for daily living can be learned with the Markap Series of Books. If your organization would like live presentations or Zoom meetings, they can be arranged for small to large groups.
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Contact me at Mark@markap1.com
