Maslow writes the following of self-actualizing people:
They embrace the facts and realities of the world (including themselves) rather than denying or avoiding them.
They are spontaneous in their ideas and actions.
They are creative.
They are interested in solving problems; this often includes the problems of others. Solving these problems is often a key focus in their lives.
They feel a closeness to other people, and generally appreciate life.
They have a system of morality that is fully internalized and independent of external authority.
They have discernment and are able to view all things in an objective manner.
To further confound the problem of understanding motivation, Maslow points out that motives are not always conscious. In the average person, he believes, they are more often unconscious than conscious — showing the influence on his thinking of Freudian psychologists who have long been concerned with the hidden causes of human behavior.
In Maslow's theory, then, human needs are arranged in a hierarchy of importance. Needs emerge only when higher-priority needs have been satisfied. By the same token, satisfied needs no longer influence behavior. This point seems worth stressing to managers and administrators, who often mistakenly assume that money and other tangible incentives are the only cures for morale and productivity problems. It may be, however, that the need to participate, to be recognized, to be creative, and to experience a sense of worth are better motivators in an affluent society, where many have already achieved an acceptable measure of freedom from hunger and threats to security and personal safety, and are now driven by higher-order psychological needs.
In short, self-actualization is reaching one's fullest potential.
However, to further clarify “There are certain conditions which are immediate prerequisites for the basic need satisfactions.”
“Such conditions as freedom to speak, freedom to do what one wishes so long as no harm is done to others, freedom to express one's self, freedom to investigate and seek for information, freedom to defend one's self, justice, fairness, honesty, orderliness in the group, are examples of such preconditions for basic need satisfactions.”
According to Maslow, the tendencies of self-actualizing people are as follows:
1. Awareness
efficient perception of reality
freshness of appreciation
peak experiences
ethical awareness
2. Honesty
philosophical sense of humour
social interest
deep interpersonal relationships
democratic character structure
3. Freedom
need for solitude
autonomous, independent
creativity, originality
spontaneous
4. Trust
problem centered
acceptance of self, others, nature
resistance to enculturation - identity with humanity
Maslow discovered that healthy individuals are motivated toward what he termed self-actualization, and noted that Self-actualizing people had strikingly similar characteristics.
