24 - Happiness, Success and Self-Actualization

Abraham Maslow is a psychologist who proposed a variety of developmental concepts for various components of living.  The one illustrated here is his developmental theory on human motivation - what are the needs we are motivated to obtain in order to develop further.  If, for some reason, as we move up the ladder, a previous step is lost (eg. if I become homeless / 'safety' step), then I need to return there to ensure that is taken care of before I can move on.

This came into play in a discussion I had tonight with my brother.  We were talking about the narcissism in our world, how prevalent it is in every imaginable place.  And yes, how we are part of it as well.  What we pondered was ... is that point of SA a point of ultimate self-obsession or a form of narcissism (complete obsession to obtain self-happiness at all costs because all other stages are focused on the self) or is SA something different? We live in a society obsessed with the self, with the image you see when you look in the mirror (how much money is spent on gym memberships? skin procedures? diet tricks? ... why is it a status for older women to be called 'Cougars'?) and if you don't like what you see, then you go out to find a way to change it, even to the point of putting your life, family, everything in jeopardy.  It was an interesting conversation and definitely made me look at myself.

I stopped for coffee and read a bit of Frankl's book Man's Search for Meaning ... "Don't aim at success -- the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side-effect of one's personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one's surrender tot a person other than oneself.  Happiness must happen, and the same holds for success: you have to let it happen by not caring about it.  I want you to listen to what your conscious commands you to do and go on to carry it out to the best of your knowledge.  Then you will live to see that in the long run -- in the long run, I say! -- success will follow you precisely because you had forgotten to think of it."  Part of self-obsession or not?

Gratitude Moments for Today
1/ Today, I'm grateful to have a good talk with my brother; I love when we peel back the layers of what we are seeing and examine what we perceive.
2/ Today, I'm grateful that I spent the time reviewing PPT last night because I know I did awesome on the assessment today.
3/ Today, I'm grateful for how the day went - up until about 1:30. Focus on what went well, not what went south, and endeavour to continue the good parts tomorrow!
4/ Today, I'm grateful to have a pre-warmed bed to crawl into at the end of the day!
5/ Today, I'm grateful for the fire I'm starting to feel. Please, let it flare up!