clydebrolin.com
  • Home
  • Books
    • In The Zone
    • Overdrive >
      • OverdriveF1.com
  • Reviews
  • Quotes
  • Blog
  • Contact

Dragging ourselves back up the pyramid

31/5/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
American psychologist Abraham Maslow spent his life exploring what makes us human beings tick. His quest is most famous for his ‘hierarchy of needs’, a simple diagram of a pyramid (see above) that categorises our every requirement and craving in order of importance.
 
The bottom layer features raw essentials including food, water, sleep and sex – all of which apply to every animal on the planet. The next level is ‘safety’: health, employment, shelter and general resources. Then comes ‘love and belonging’ such as family and friends. Only once those basics are in place can we start to exploit the areas that set humans apart, notably ‘self-esteem’, plus achievements and respect for and by others. Rising even higher we can explore the aesthetics of our environment, stimulating ourselves intellectually and fulfilling our need for harmony, order and beauty.
 
The top of the pyramid is reserved for ‘self-actualisation’, where we ditch all prejudice and find morality, creativity, spontaneity plus an ability to solve problems. This is where humans achieve our full potential and chase our dreams, life becomes playful yet honest, individual yet integrated, honourable yet effortless, rich yet simple. This summit is where we are most likely to find ‘peak experiences’, those profound moments of love, happiness or insight where we feel most alive and connected with the universe. This is as good as it gets. The Zone.
 
Given that we have to build up a solid foundation of all the other layers first, it’s no surprise that the Zone is so hard to reach and most experiences are so fleeting. Much of the world’s population is stuck in a daily battle for the essentials for survival. It is possible to peak in such circumstances, but it’s at the level of an animal.
 
Maslow was adamant it shouldn’t be like this. The top should be the norm not the exception: not about having something ‘extra’, rather having nothing taken away. He reckoned our ultimate goal is to attain personal growth; indeed this very process is the path to true happiness. Yet to reach these higher peaks, he understood certain conditions must be in place, such as the freedom to seek new knowledge and to express ourselves without constraint. That rules out dictatorships and other subtler forms of oppression.
 
Over the past three months billions more of us have been dragged back down the pyramid to level two: safety. Last month’s blog details the futility of this endeavour, yet the world’s media and governments continue to insist this is a rational way to live our lives.
 
Still convinced they’re right? If so are you prepared to give up everything it really means to be a human being? Something tells me it's time to rise back up...
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    Author

    Clyde Brolin spent over a decade working in F1 before moving on to the wider world of sport - all in a bid to discover the untapped power of the human mind.

    His first book Overdrive was shortlisted for Best New Writer at the 2011 British Sports Book Awards.

    In The Zone - featuring 100 interviews with the greats of world sport - is out now...

    Picture

    Archives

    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017

    Categories

    All
    Action Sports
    Adventure
    Air Racing
    Athletics
    Audiobook
    BASE Jumping
    Basketball
    BMX
    Business
    Charity
    Climbing
    Creativity
    Cricket
    Cycling
    Deals
    Dreams
    Endurance
    Football
    Formula 1
    Golf
    Hurling
    Indy 500
    Ironman
    Kitesurfing
    Land Speed Record
    Marathon
    Media
    Meditation
    Mental Strength
    Mindfulness
    Motocross
    Motorcycling
    Motor Sport
    Mountaineering
    Olympics
    Out Of Body Experience
    Out-of-Body Experience
    Paralympics
    Podcasts
    Politics
    Psychology
    Rally
    Religion
    Resilience
    Reviews
    Rowing
    Rugby Union
    Running
    Science
    Skiing
    Skydiving
    Spirituality
    Surfing
    Swimming
    Teamwork
    Technology
    Tennis
    Triathlon
    TV
    Visualisation
    Windsurfing
    Work Ethic
    World Cup

    RSS Feed

    Picture
    Picture
Site powered by Weebly. Managed by Easy Internet Solutions LTD
  • Home
  • Books
    • In The Zone
    • Overdrive >
      • OverdriveF1.com
  • Reviews
  • Quotes
  • Blog
  • Contact