When it comes to theories on motivation, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is always the first thing that comes to my mind. Maslow himself was a very educated a wise man who I truly admire. His hierarchy of needs has five levels that represent five things we need as humans. Each need is built off of the other. Starting from the most basic human needs and working our way towards the ultimate goal of what he calls self-actualization. The pyramid starts with Physiological needs, which are our most basis needs, food, water, air. The next step is safety needs, which is the need for security and protection. Third is a need for social interaction. We need affection, the feeling of belonging and friendship. The fourth need is referred to as esteem. Esteem means having confidence in yourself, self-respect and also feeling recognized by others. Finally we have self-actualization, which means reaching our full potential and capacity as a person. This is the ultimate step that we all are motivated to achieve.

This hierarchy encompasses everything that we are motivated to achieve in our lives. We all want to be everything we can be. As human beings we all have a natural drive to do our best. We also want all of our desires fulfilled. Each step in the pyramid motivates us to reach the next step. And every step builds on the other. If you apply this theory to your life, it makes sense. With this pyramid we can make sense out of why we do what we do. Understanding what you want is the first step to getting it. If you know what your looking for, then you can find the method to achieve it.