13 Characteristics Of Self-actualized People According To Abraham Maslow
Abraham Maslow He was an American psychologist belonging to the humanistic perspective, the “third force” in terms of psychological currents, after psychoanalysis and behaviorism.
The approach of Humanistic Psychology focuses on the most positive aspects of the human experience and its development. Humanists consider the individual responsible for the results of his or her life and they trust that, with the appropriate conditions, it will develop in a desirable direction, since all humans have the necessary potential for optimal growth.
Humanistic psychologists believed that people are intrinsically good and turned to environmental causes to explain behaviors considered negative. However, according to Maslow, just because all people have the power to be the drivers of their own personal development does not mean that everyone does so. Only some make the decision to self-actualize, with all the efforts and sacrifices that this entails. These will become self-realized people.
Maslow believed that people develop through several levels toward their full potential. Although all people can reach the highest levels of self-realization, in practice it is only a few who reach the highest level of development. These are the so-called self-realized people, and Maslow estimated that less than 1% of the population was
Self-actualization, according to Maslow, consists of the full development of human potential. It defines it as “the continuous realization of potentials, capacities and talents, as the fulfillment of a mission, destiny or vocation, as a full knowledge and acceptance of the intrinsic nature of the person, as an incessant tendency towards unity, integration and synergy. within the person.”
For him, psychological disorders would be nothing more than denials of one’s own internal potential and attacks against the individual’s own nature.
Characteristics of self-actualized people
From a series of observations and studies, Maslow identified a series of common characteristics of self-actualized people
These are not innate traits that some people have inherited through genes, but rather they are simply ways in which the process of achieving self-realization is expressed. These features are the following:
1. Efficient perception of reality
Self-actualized individuals perceive reality more clearly and objectively Therefore, they are more unlikely to be deceived, since they show ease in detecting the manipulation strategies of others and are able to judge people in a useful and adaptive way.
2. Acceptance
Self-actualized people show a relatively high degree of self-acceptance, and this is reflected in their self-image and self-esteem. This characteristic of acceptance also extends to many other areas of life. Thus, self-actualized individuals accept the bad and the good in life, having first identified what types of situations are irremediable and cannot be radically changed through human actions.
Self-actualized people are aware that there are certain uncontrollable situations in life, and that is why they cope better with losses, handle grief better, They adapt to changes in their lives and have less fear of death
By being in touch with your inner impulses and your subjective experience, Self-actualized people behave in simple and natural ways without hiding behind a social mask or a false “I”.
4. Focused on problems
Self-actualized people focus on problems outside themselves, having a high level of social awareness, and do not hesitate to abandon their ego to help others. They tend to be sensitive and committed to various social causes and do not tolerate injustice.
5. Need for privacy
They enjoy solitude They do not need to continually enjoy external approval, and they think for themselves rather than letting others make decisions for them. Studies show that they can tolerate sensory deprivation more easily than others.
6. Autonomy
They are also independent, able to meet their own needs and fend for themselves. without depending on others excessively. They make decisions without asking the advice of others, trusting in their good judgment and taking responsibility for them.
7. Freshness in appreciation
Self-actualized people display an almost childlike sense of wonder and admiration. Curious, they let life surprise them even in those contexts that others will perceive as banal and boring.
8. Peak experiences
Capable of having mystical experiences that Maslow defined as “states of unity where time tends to fade away and the feeling that overwhelms makes it seem that all needs are met.”
Some of the sources that unleash peak experiences in the individual are love, art or erotic ecstasy
9. Human relationship
They identify with human beings in general, and they have a sense of relationship with the human race, without prejudices. In addition, they are capable of creating healthy love relationships, without attachment or dependency, solely focusing on making the loved person grow.
They are humble and can learn from many different people They are democratic rather than authoritarian and do not insist on maintaining a status above others.
11. Ethics and values
They have strong ethical standards although these are not conventional norms of good and evil, but rather their own ideas that have been formed based on their own criteria and observation of the world.
12. Sense of humor
They have a great sense of humor that is not hostile, they do not laugh at other people’s expense. It is a more philosophical, existential sense of humor
13. Creativity
It is present in all self-realized subjects. They are capable of generating genuine ideas and original solutions to problems
Self-actualization and basic needs
Maslow considered that every human being was capable of achieving his or her own self-realization by having previously satisfied his or her basic needs, which he set out in his famous hierarchy of needs (usually represented in the form of a pyramid).
