have you ever wondered why someone would leave a perfectly high-paying job to switch to something
that pays significantly lower do you ever think about why some folks give huge amounts to charity
while leaving only a smaller portion of their income for themselves or do you wonder why all
of a sudden a close friend starts becoming all religious or do you question why your colleague
with a degree in engineering starts waiting in restaurants in this video we'll cover the answers
to these questions and many more by studying the theory of motivation behind human behavior
abraham maslow puts forward his theory that people are motivated by five categories of needs
physiological safety love self-esteem and self-actualization
the appearance of one need usually rests on the prior satisfaction of another more pre-potent need
maslow explains that more concrete needs such as food and water need to be satisfied first
after which other higher needs such as self-esteem and self-actualization are addressed
let us consider the life of tom a 30 year old individual and see how maslow's theory
explains how he lives through his life maslow's hierarchy of needs is often displayed as a pyramid
with the lower levels being made up of the most basic needs while the most complex
needs self-esteem and self-actualization are at the top of the pyramid for tom
his most basic needs or physiological needs deal with the maintenance and functioning of his body
the lowest category includes the most basic needs that are vital to survival such as the need for
water air food shelter and sleep maslow believed that these needs are the most instinctive needs
because all other needs become secondary until these needs are met if tom needs water then
little else will matter until he has something to drink if his physiological need is not met he
will struggle to function in the society properly it is only when these needs are met that tom will
progress upwards on the pyramid to fulfill other higher or complex needs the physiological need
will dictate the behavior of tom to a very large extent for instance he just completed his master's
degree in engineering but due to the financial crisis he is unable to get a job does this mean
tom should sit at home until the next opportunity comes knocking at his door no to survive
tom will seek out alternative employment so he gets a job as a head waiter in his local diner
which helps him make money so that he can afford his basic needs such as food water
and shelter his friends from university on the other hand do not understand his predicament
as they are from affluent families and can afford to stay unemployed until the economy gets better
and they land the jobs they want since their parents can always put food and water on the table
life becomes stressful and tiresome without fulfilling the needs at the base of the pyramid
when we do not possess physiological needs it's difficult to move up the maslow's hierarchy
now that tom has achieved the fulfillment of his most basic needs of survival he moves to
achieving the next level of needs on the pyramid this includes the need for safety and security
our safety needs are apparent even early on during the childhood years of our lives as children
we have a need for safe and predictable environments and typically react with fear
or high levels of anxiety when this need is not met since tom is now earning an income and can
meet his basic needs he has income left over to address his safety and security needs as well tom
currently lives in a neighborhood that has a lot of burglaries gang wars and drug abuse he decides
to relocate to a safer and cleaner place he also decides to start saving up some money for his
retirement by opening a savings account tom also enrolls in a life insurance plan that will help
him cover major hospitalization charges in case of a major operation if he needs one in the future in
addition to this tom also receives a promotion on his job and becomes a manager at the local diner
which makes his job more secure all these events lead him to have a greater sense of security
and safety due to which he can progress higher on the maslow's pyramid of needs
okay so if you're enjoying the video so far i would like you to do something for
me pause this video right now and do me a huge favor by hitting the like button
did you do it if you did you're awesome and thank you so much for your support so according
to maslow humans also need to feel a sense of belonging and acceptance among social groups
regardless of whether they're large or small groups this is the third level on the maslow's
pyramid of needs a human will crave for love affection as well as relationships with family and
friends and companionship since tom has already met his physiological needs and his safety needs
it's time to address his loneliness he's felt the need for companionship and for starting a family
so he decides to fall in love and marries the girl of his dreams they start a beautiful family
with two sons and a daughter all the depression loneliness and anxiety that tom was previously
facing has now been replaced with happiness companionship love and a fulfilling relationship
tom also starts to feel the urge of creating meaningful relationships and friendships apart
from his immediate family therefore he decides to join the local book club and the cycling group on
the weekends he also starts to regularly attend his son's football practices and
daughter's music practices where he gets to meet other people with similar interests and hobbies
on every alternate sunday he decides to host a barbecue party at his place
in which he invites all his new friends and they all have a good time with their families together
maslow explains that once a person achieves his social needs safety needs and physiological needs
he starts to desire self-esteem needs esteem includes two components the first involves
feeling confident and good about yourself and the second involves feeling valued by others
when esteem needs are not met you will experience feelings of inferiority
tom's managerial job at the local diner turns into an opportunity of a lifetime when he gets
an offer for the country general manager position of a multinational food chain called mcdonald's
this is a huge achievement for tom as he now has a great job title and his respect amongst his
peers has significantly increased tom has reached his goals and now feels at the top of the world
sure enough after a few years pass by since tom has reached the epitome of his career
he starts to feel hollow on the inside he begins to question if life is only about making money
buying a luxurious home and an expensive car he also starts to question his career path of working
at a restaurant he was not passionate about this career and had pursued it only to meet his
physiological or survival needs his true passion in life is to invent things for which he had done
his master's degree in engineering all those years ago in the first place tom decides that he has
enough savings and a good investment portfolio to generate him steady monthly income going forward
therefore he quits his job and starts a technology startup although there's little or no money in it
currently he enjoys his work immensely and cannot think of anything else he would rather do in life
maslow describes this as the fifth stage of the hierarchy of needs called self-actualization
this is the highest level and refers to the fulfillment of a person's potential
it may vary from person to person for someone self-actualization could be attained by becoming
a painter while another person could achieve it by becoming a loving parent maslow later added
another level called transcendence in the pyramid of needs this is when a person is motivated by
values which transcend beyond the self eg nature pursuit of religion charity etc few people reach
this stage in their lives these include people like mother teresa abdul satar eddie albert
einstein abraham lincoln nelson mandela etc who have made immense contributions to society at
large understanding maslow's theory of needs helps a person understand the motivations and psychology
behind human behavior you begin to understand why people do the things they do a clever person
can use this theory to predict how changes in stimulus can affect the behavior of another person
an employer can study how to effectively motivate his employees while a teacher can
study how to create the most conducive learning environment for her students the simplicity and
wider applicability of maslow's theory is one of the reasons why it is regarded as one of the most
influential works in modern day human psychology well i hope you learned something interesting
today and if you did enjoy the video go ahead and give it a thumbs up and subscribe if you're new
to the channel with that said have a great day you guys and i'll see you all in the next one