Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
At this stage, it is worth considering how finding happiness relates to the hierarchy of needs.
What is The Hierarchy of Needs?
The hierarchy of needs is a psychological theory proposed by Abraham Maslow about the motivations behind human behaviour. It is illustrated as a pyramid composed of five levels. Each level represents a category of needs that we need to meet to achieve a sense of fulfilment.
The five levels are arranged in a hierarchy of progression with priority given to meeting the basic foundational needs first.
The category at the base of the pyramid consists of our physiological requirements for water, food, sleep, warmth and shelter. It is not possible for us to survive without them.
The second level of needs is concerned with living and working in a safe environment. This involves access to a sufficient stable income as well as being in good health.
Our desire to find love, acceptance and a sense of belonging form part of the third category of needs. Associated with this is our longing for with friendship, family and romantic relationships.
As we go higher up the pyramid, we reach the fourth level. At this stage, we seek self esteem as well as respect from others. This includes feeling a sense of self worth, dignity, competence and independence.
Self actualization is the highest level of the pyramid and relates to reaching our full potential. It is here that we display creativity, strong morals, acceptance of reality and and appreciation of life.
How does finding happiness relates to The Hierarchy of Needs?
It seems obvious to me that finding happiness is very closely related to the hierarchy of needs. This is because our levels of happiness are affected by how successfully we are able to meet the different needs in the hierarchy.
We might assume that people who are trying to meet their most basic needs are not happy at all. We might also think that those focused on meeting their needs at the highest level are always happy. From my experience, I would say that this is not not actually the case. It appears that happiness is relative and can be deeply felt on any level.
Can we still find happiness when many of our needs remain unmet?
During our time in Africa, our family lived for a number of years in a rural community where the water supply system was failing and we found ourselves without water at regular intervals. It is very disconcerting to have no water. I remember feeling disorientated and unable to focus on other things. I can also remember the rush of happiness I felt when clean water started coming out of the taps again!
Apart from often being without water, we were also unable to afford the groceries we needed. Added to this, in the area where we lived, the properties were constantly being broken into by armed thieves. We really were in precarious position where we could not afford basic necessities and we felt unsafe.
Despite all of this, I was writing poetry in my spare time. This enabled me to meet my need for self actualisation. I had the sense that I was creating something hopefully of value, that would last beyond my lifetime. This made me happy even though it was a struggle to meet our basic needs.
At the time, the words of Paul in the Book of Romans also added greatly to my sense of wellbeing.
“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” Romans 8:28
Although we faced multiple challenges, I felt like everything was going to be alright in the end.
So I would say that we can still be happy even when it is difficult to meet our foundational needs. It seems that happiness arises from being able to successfully meet a particular need or make progress in that direction. This is the case regardless of the level at which we are trying to meet the need.
This is very good news. No matter how far down we find ourselves on the hierarchy of needs, each of us can still find happiness.