In the simplest of terms, they are what we require to survive, grow and be happy. Without meeting our basic needs, we could not focus on more elaborate aspects of life and would never achieve success in any capacity. Understanding your own human needs can help you to fulfill them and succeed in your career as well as in your personal life. Therefore, here are the seven most important human needs that you must satisfy to be successful at work, at home, and in life overall
Table of Contents
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of human needs is a widely used model in sociology. In his 1943 paper A Theory of Human Motivation, he identified five different levels – or stages – to the hierarchy with need fulfillment being the goal at the top.
1) Physiological needs, such as hunger and thirst;
2) Safety needs, such as security and stability;
3) Belongingness and love;
4) Esteem needs, including the need for self-actualization (or the realization of one’s potential);
5) Self-actualization. Once these basic physiological and safety needs are met, people then focus on their social relationships.
How your mind works to achieve satisfaction
Your mind does not often work to satisfy your simplest, most basic human needs. Most people find themselves dissatisfied with how they live their lives and how they make money. In general, if you want to create a sense of satisfaction in your life, the best place to start is by satisfying your deeply-rooted human needs. Humans have a deep need for meaning and purpose in their life. This means finding something that aligns with what you care about on a personal level and dedicating yourself to it. You also need security in your life. Security can come from having enough income and being able to provide for your family without worry or from knowing you are financially set for retirement. And finally, humans crave connection. You may be looking at relationships as the only form of connection but there are plenty of other ways to fulfill this need too.
Physical health and mental stability are fundamental
To begin, most would agree that human needs are essential. A vast amount of psychologists and mental health experts agree on this. These experts also believe that these two pillars, physical health, and mental stability are fundamental to living a happy life. Furthermore, these pillars become the foundation on which people should work when determining how they want to shape their lives going forward. You need to take into consideration what your body needs so it can function properly- i.e., you must sleep, eat healthy foods, and get proper exercise. Mental stability is vital for healthy relationships with family and friends; it helps you make better decisions; it promotes clarity so you can identify what’s truly important to you, and it keeps your mood elevated so you don’t get overwhelmed by life’s inevitable challenges.
Belonging and love
Fulfilling belonging and love needs are necessary for emotional health. In this sense, belonging is feeling like a part of the group, and love is to be cared for and to care for another.
Most people experience various degrees of loneliness throughout their lives and may develop unhealthy relationships to alleviate these feelings. Furthermore, recent research suggests that there is not a single population where loneliness doesn’t have an effect. Loneliness has been linked to high blood pressure, diabetes, sleep problems, and impaired immune function. On the other hand, healthy relationships have been shown to decrease rates of heart disease and depression as well as increase longevity.
What this means is that humans need more than just food and water – we need social connections with others. Studies show that even if we’re not hungry or thirsty our brain will tell us we need water if it thinks it will be useful for socializing.
Maslow’s hierarchy pyramid
In 1936, Abraham Maslow developed a theory called the Hierarchy of Needs which can be depicted in a pyramid with five levels ranging from the most basic need at the bottom to the most advanced and psychological needs at the top. Maslow’s hierarchy pyramid reflects our general pattern of satisfying lower-level needs before moving on to higher-level ones. For example, if someone is starving they will likely ignore their self-esteem and other higher-level needs until their physiological needs are satisfied. Once these are taken care of, then self-actualization comes into play. The Hierarchy of Needs idea has been around for over seventy years and still has a lot of relevance today in fields like psychology and economics.
Esteem, Self-esteem, Self Actualization
We all want to be respected and love who we are but most importantly, self-actualized. To be able to live a happy life and reach our potential, we need to fill in the blanks when it comes to our deepest needs. Everyone has a list of what they need for them to feel fulfilled in their lives. Some people might need respect, while others might need money or food. There is no right or wrong answer, as long as you are fulfilling your needs. What’s important is that you know what you need so that you can take steps towards achieving it. For example, if you need more money, then find a job. If you need more friends, then start going out more often. You’ll never get where you want to be if you don’t know where you are coming from in the first place.