Self-Actualization In Today's Society

Self-actualization is much more easily attained today than it was in the past. Humanistic Psychology is defined as the psychological model that emphasizes an individual’s phenomenal world and inherent capacity for making rational choices and developing to maximum potential. Humanistic Psychology holds it to be true that people are innately good, capable of making their own rational choices, and are equipped to reach psychological growth. It places a strong emphasis on freedom of choice, development, and growth. The ultimate goal of it is to reach self-actualization. Self-actualization is the state at which the individual has essentially reached their full potential. In the world as we know it today, society is better equipping people to reach their own individual self-actualization.

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, which is pictured above, functions as a means to represent how people can achieve self-actualization. This hierarchy has five different levels which include physiological, safety, love/belonging, esteem, and finally self-actualization itself. In order to reach self-actualization, the individual must fulfill each level of the hierarchy. Reaching self-actualization requires effectively fulfilling all of an individual’s wants and desires to the extent at which they are satisfied with their life enough to reach self-actualization. This is much more easily fulfilled today than it has been in the past.

In today’s society, compared to society in the past, a vast number of different types of lifestyles and beliefs have become socially acceptable. American society no longer exhibits the racism that once defined it in the last several hundred years. For African Americans and other races that were once the victims of such racism, self-actualization is now a possibility for them. Reaching self-actualization prior to the civil rights movement for African Americans was starkly difficult. Prior to the Civil War, slavery made it nearly impossible, and following it, the different laws and racism in society still made it a difficulty. For some it most likely wasn't impossible, but today it is definitely much easier.

Society’s acceptance of homosexuality is another example of self-actualization becoming more reachable in today’s society. Homosexuality has become widely accepted in society, at least more so than it once was, and homosexual marriage is starting to become legalized in many places. Because of this, self-actualization is much more easily attainable for homosexuals now that they can live without facing discrimination, and not being held back in society because of how they want to live, and how they want to go about seeking their own self-actualization. This goes back to humanistic psychology. Humanistic psychology has a firm basis in achieving self-actualization, and its emphasis on free will. It integrates knowledge of the mind, body, and behavior with an awareness of social and cultural forces in its practice and application. All of these factors combine to make self-actualization attainable for homosexuals.

In general, as the times change, and different religious, sexual, and racial beliefs become more socially acceptable, people are more likely to gravitate towards achieving the long sought after state of self-actualization. Achieving self-actualization requires a tremendous amount of time, effort, and focus on what the individual wants to achieve in life, but as today’s culture progresses towards one based on acceptance, individuals will definitely find it easier to get there.