Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

With all this talk of needs — what are our actual needs?

It’s easy to think that we all are unique and have our own unique set of needs — while this is partially the case, at core we are all humans. Whether you’re the food critic or your average Joe, you both need to eat. Survival is a basic shared need among all organisms.

Once humans feel confident that they will survive, however, many other needs take over.

Psychologist Abraham Maslow provided a helpful framework to conceptualize what humans need, and how needs are prioritized.

The framework is a pyramid, implying that a human only targets a wrung on the pyramid when they feel secure in the rung below.

Safety needs — what we need to survive today — are the most fundamental. All humans need air, water, food, shelter, sleep, clothing and sex. If a person can’t breath, is starving, has nowhere to sleep, then that person will not think beyond their physical needs until those needs are met. That makes sense — failure to meet physical needs is literally life threatening, right now. The brain is in alarm mode, fully focused on these needs until they are satisfied.

When those needs are met, then security becomes the next concern. How can we not only meet our physical needs today, but longer term. Only once we feel confident that we can meet our own needs for the foreseeable future do we then seek out a sense of belonging. Individuals pre-occupied by safety and security concerns are in what’s called a “scarcity” mindset — that often leads them to adopt the position of playing a zero sum game: there’s only so much pie to divide, and what you eat, I can’t. This leads to a “me vs. the world” mindset that makes intimacy, trust and belonging challenging — and for good reason! When we build intimate bonds we want to protect others as we protect ourselves. If there’s not enough to go around, then protecting others directly threatens our survival.

However, humans are fundamentally social creatures. We evolved to survive in groups, to coordinate and communicate adeptly. Often our safety and survival often depends on belonging to the group, and the need to belong is hardwired into our operating systems.

Finally, once we’ve handled the things we need to survive, we want to thrive. We want to be productive members of society (self esteem), and ultimately make the most of the lives we’ve been given (self actualization).

While these categories are rough, they are a helpful framework to guide us as we understand our needs and the emotional landscape that rules our minds and drives our actions in the world.