HEIRARCHY OF NEEDS
Aim: The aim of this workout is to help you to understand the Hierarchy of Needs. This theory is used as the basis for self development programmes all over the world from Tony Robbins to UN to leading leadership development programmes in Europe.
An American academic called Abraham Maslow developed a theory called the Hierarchy of Needs. This says that human beings have a number of needs that must be met.
Psychological needs are those required to sustain life, such as: air, water, nourishment, sleep.
Safety- Once physiological needs are met, your attention turns to safety and security in order to be free from the threat of physical and emotional harm. Such needs might be fulfilled by: Living in a safe area, Medical insurance, Job security, Financial reserves. According to Maslow’s hierarchy, if a person feels that he or she is in harm’s way, higher needs will not receive much attention- so if you have no food or water you will focus on that need first.
Social Needs Once you have met the lower level physiological and safety needs, higher level needs become important, the first of which are social needs. Social needs are those related to interaction with other people and can include: Need for friends, need for belonging, the need to give and receive love.
Esteem Once you feel a sense of ‘belonging’, the need to feel important arises. Esteem or value needs may be classified as internal or external. Internal esteem needs are those related to self-esteem such as self respect and achievement. External esteem needs are those such as social status and recognition. Some esteem needs are: Self-respect, Achievement, Attention, Recognition, Reputation.
Self-actualization is the summit of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. It is the mission of reaching your full potential as a person. Unlike lower level needs, this need is never fully satisfied; as you grow psychologically there are always new opportunities to continue to grow.
Self-actualized people tend to have needs such as: Truth, Justice, Wisdom, Meaning. Self-actualized persons have frequent occurrences of peak experiences, which are ecstatic moments of profound happiness and harmony. According to Maslow, only a small percentage of the population reaches the level of self-actualization.
As previously mentioned, physiological needs are those that we need to sustain life, and I would say these are the basic human needs- air, water, food, shelter, sleep. According to Maslow’s theory, if such needs are not satisfied then our motivation will come from the desire to satisfy them. Higher needs such as social needs and esteem are not felt until one has met the basic needs to function. Makes sense so far? If we feel hungry, we lack at the first level and that would motivate us to satisfy our desire in a particular way- for most of us that could be by going and making something to eat and having a drink. After that need is satisfied we are ok and at a state of balance again. This idea applies to all the levels.
Spirituality and the Hierarchy of Needs?
One thing that Maslow’s theory misses out explicitly is spirituality. As human beings we have a physical aspect to our nature but we also have a spiritual one, and in some ways the spiritual one is more powerful than the physical need. We are both physical and spiritual beings. By mentioning spirituality and nafs the hierarchy has more depth. All of the needs mentioned in the hierarchy are essentially related to our nafs and it is our spiritual self that motivates us to behave in a particular way. What is interesting here is that the drivers of the spirit are often the opposite to the driver of the nafs. These are constantly in a state of struggle against each other- desperate to dominate. To engage in this struggle we engage in the ‘jihad al nafs’ (striving against the animal self).
What is interesting is that as Muslims we fast and are able to control our desires for food, drink and marital relations from sunrise to sunset. As soon as we are allowed these things again we freely partake in them. This behaviour contradicts Maslow’s theory- in that when we are hungry but are fasting we will not satisfy our basic needs. The same applies to when we wake at night to
pray and devote ourselves to long prayers and sacrifice sleep, thus the spiritual self is dominant again.
‘Our Lord, I have settled some of my descendants in an uncultivated valley near Your sacred House, our Lord, that they may establish prayer. So make hearts among the people incline toward them and provide for them from the fruits that they might be grateful.’
Qur’an 14; 37
The ayat above is the dua that Prophet Ibrahim alayhis salaam. made when leaving Hajar radiAllahu anha and Ismael in the valley that was to become Makkah. If you break down this ayat, then the Hierarchy of Needs has been reversed with the spiritual needs being addressed first (establish prayer), and then the social needs (people incline towards them) and then the physiological needs (provide for them the fruits). The self actualisation part of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is interestingly the last bit that Prophet Ibrahim alayhis salaam mentions in the dua ‘so that they may be grateful’.
Now this is the bit where you need to pay attention.
From the Hierarchy of Needs modern leaders and executive managers can find a means of understanding employee motivation for the purposes of staff and workforce management. The basis of Maslow's theory of motivation is that human beings are motivated by unsatisfied needs, and that certain lower needs require satisfaction before higher needs can be addressed. So for sufficient workplace motivation it is important that leaders and managers understand which needs are active in individual employee motivation. Related to this Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs indicates that basic, low-level needs such as physiological requirements and safety must be satisfied before higher-level needs such as self-fulfilment are pursued. When a need is satisfied it no longer motivates and the next higher need takes its place.
How do you feel about this? Do you think hierarchy of needs is important for you? Jot down your thoughts here.
Aim: The aim of this workout is to help you to understand the Hierarchy of Needs. This theory is used as the basis for self development programmes all over the world from Tony Robbins to UN to leading leadership development programmes in Europe.
An American academic called Abraham Maslow developed a theory called the Hierarchy of Needs. This says that human beings have a number of needs that must be met.
Psychological needs are those required to sustain life, such as: air, water, nourishment, sleep.
Safety- Once physiological needs are met, your attention turns to safety and security in order to be free from the threat of physical and emotional harm. Such needs might be fulfilled by: Living in a safe area, Medical insurance, Job security, Financial reserves. According to Maslow’s hierarchy, if a person feels that he or she is in harm’s way, higher needs will not receive much attention- so if you have no food or water you will focus on that need first.
Social Needs Once you have met the lower level physiological and safety needs, higher level needs become important, the first of which are social needs. Social needs are those related to interaction with other people and can include: Need for friends, need for belonging, the need to give and receive love.
Esteem Once you feel a sense of ‘belonging’, the need to feel important arises. Esteem or value needs may be classified as internal or external. Internal esteem needs are those related to self-esteem such as self respect and achievement. External esteem needs are those such as social status and recognition. Some esteem needs are: Self-respect, Achievement, Attention, Recognition, Reputation.
Self-actualization is the summit of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. It is the mission of reaching your full potential as a person. Unlike lower level needs, this need is never fully satisfied; as you grow psychologically there are always new opportunities to continue to grow.
Self-actualized people tend to have needs such as: Truth, Justice, Wisdom, Meaning. Self-actualized persons have frequent occurrences of peak experiences, which are ecstatic moments of profound happiness and harmony. According to Maslow, only a small percentage of the population reaches the level of self-actualization.
As previously mentioned, physiological needs are those that we need to sustain life, and I would say these are the basic human needs- air, water, food, shelter, sleep. According to Maslow’s theory, if such needs are not satisfied then our motivation will come from the desire to satisfy them. Higher needs such as social needs and esteem are not felt until one has met the basic needs to function. Makes sense so far? If we feel hungry, we lack at the first level and that would motivate us to satisfy our desire in a particular way- for most of us that could be by going and making something to eat and having a drink. After that need is satisfied we are ok and at a state of balance again. This idea applies to all the levels.
Spirituality and the Hierarchy of Needs?
One thing that Maslow’s theory misses out explicitly is spirituality. As human beings we have a physical aspect to our nature but we also have a spiritual one, and in some ways the spiritual one is more powerful than the physical need. We are both physical and spiritual beings. By mentioning spirituality and nafs the hierarchy has more depth. All of the needs mentioned in the hierarchy are essentially related to our nafs and it is our spiritual self that motivates us to behave in a particular way. What is interesting here is that the drivers of the spirit are often the opposite to the driver of the nafs. These are constantly in a state of struggle against each other- desperate to dominate. To engage in this struggle we engage in the ‘jihad al nafs’ (striving against the animal self).
What is interesting is that as Muslims we fast and are able to control our desires for food, drink and marital relations from sunrise to sunset. As soon as we are allowed these things again we freely partake in them. This behaviour contradicts Maslow’s theory- in that when we are hungry but are fasting we will not satisfy our basic needs. The same applies to when we wake at night to
pray and devote ourselves to long prayers and sacrifice sleep, thus the spiritual self is dominant again.
‘Our Lord, I have settled some of my descendants in an uncultivated valley near Your sacred House, our Lord, that they may establish prayer. So make hearts among the people incline toward them and provide for them from the fruits that they might be grateful.’
Qur’an 14; 37
The ayat above is the dua that Prophet Ibrahim alayhis salaam. made when leaving Hajar radiAllahu anha and Ismael in the valley that was to become Makkah. If you break down this ayat, then the Hierarchy of Needs has been reversed with the spiritual needs being addressed first (establish prayer), and then the social needs (people incline towards them) and then the physiological needs (provide for them the fruits). The self actualisation part of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is interestingly the last bit that Prophet Ibrahim alayhis salaam mentions in the dua ‘so that they may be grateful’.
Now this is the bit where you need to pay attention.
From the Hierarchy of Needs modern leaders and executive managers can find a means of understanding employee motivation for the purposes of staff and workforce management. The basis of Maslow's theory of motivation is that human beings are motivated by unsatisfied needs, and that certain lower needs require satisfaction before higher needs can be addressed. So for sufficient workplace motivation it is important that leaders and managers understand which needs are active in individual employee motivation. Related to this Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs indicates that basic, low-level needs such as physiological requirements and safety must be satisfied before higher-level needs such as self-fulfilment are pursued. When a need is satisfied it no longer motivates and the next higher need takes its place.
How do you feel about this? Do you think hierarchy of needs is important for you? Jot down your thoughts here.
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Wo r k Fa i t h B a l a n c e Re s o u r c e 4 : Hi e r a r c h y o f Ne e d s
NB : Th i s r e s o u r c e i s t o b e u s e d w i t h Wo r k Fa i t h Ba l a n c e , b y S a i y y i d a h Za i d i , wh i c h c a n b e d o w n l o a d e d f r om www .wo r k f a i t h b a l a n c e . c om f o r f r e e
Wo r k Fa i t h B a l a n c e Re s o u r c e 4 : Hi e r a r c h y o f Ne e d s
NB : Th i s r e s o u r c e i s t o b e u s e d w i t h Wo r k Fa i t h Ba l a n c e , b y S a i y y i d a h Za i d i , wh i c h c a n b e d o w n l o a d e d f r om www .wo r k f a i t h b a l a n c e . c om f o r f r e e
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