“you must

want to spend

the rest of your life

with yourself

first”

-Rupi Kaur

In the 1940’s Psychologist Abraham Maslow proposed the idea that human beings all have certain needs and that those needs are best arranged in a hierarchy. In time, this hierarchy was indeed coined Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

Image Credit: https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html

The five-tier pyramid shows Maslow’s interpretation of our needs. The bottom four levels are our deficiency needs, all of which must be met before one can reach the top level of the pyramid, known as our growth need. As the pyramid shows, our deficiency needs are then broken into basic and psychological needs. One must start at the bottom and satisfy their physiological needs before they are able to move up and satisfy their safety needs. and so on.

Once one is able to reach the top, he or she is able to finally begin trying to satisfy his or her self-fulfillment need. If successful, this will allow the person to reach a state of self-actualization. When someone reaches self-actualization, according to Maslow, they have reached their greatest human potential. It is said that only one of every one hundred people will reach self-actualization. This is because self-actualization requires some uncommon qualities, such as true honesty, awareness, objectiveness, originality, and more. Another reason self-actualization is so difficult to achieve is that many people are often too focused on satisfying their tangible deficiency needs that once they meet their esteem needs, they often then move back down and fluctuate between different levels of the hierarchy. Though we all have the potential and desire to reach self-actualization, for most people the challenges of life become too distracting, causing them to move back and forth between the different deficiency needs.

Image Credit: https://alchetron.com/Abraham-Maslow-1355192-W

Self-love is appreciation for oneself that in part grows from actions that support our psychological growth. Hence, fulfilling Maslow’s growth need – achieving a state of self-actualization – will simultaneously increase your sense of self-love. People who have a strong sense of self-love are mindful and aware of who they are, not who others say they are. These individuals also act on what they need, not just on what they want. When you love yourself, you are able to focus on fulfilling your needs even if what you need isn’t exactly what you want. Also, someone who is able to reach self-actualization is fulfilling their full potential and purpose. When one can live with purpose and intention, they will naturally also love themselves more.

Personally, though I have always had the dream and desire to make a difference, I have more recently decided to make it a point to live with true purpose and intention. Consciously living each day with purpose will allow me to feel positive about what I am doing in life and will aid in my ability to reach self-actualization. I strive to be one of the people who is able to reach this state within my lifetime.

I spoke with FIT student Ashley Guillois, who didn’t realize how Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs relates to self-love. I started to explain all that you are reading now to Ashley, and now she also feels that, moving forward, it is important to aim for self-actualization. After speaking with me, Ashley feels committed to not only loving herself, but doing so by making it a goal to fulfill her deficiency and growth needs by following the tiers of Maslow’s Hierarchy.

Ashley is not only a fellow FIT student, she is also my friend, who has agreed to accompany me in a few weeks when we use our Campus Clipper booklets to get self-love pedicures! I continue to encourage you to feed your self-love by fulfilling your needs (see above) and taking advantage of your Campus Clipper student discounts! Maybe this week try to begin to fulfill you most basic physiological needs with some healthy food! Check out these healthy student offers and begin your journey to achieving self-actualization and true self-love!

By Chanelle Surphlis

Chanelle Surphlis is a Campus Clipper publishing intern, who is graduating from FIT this May. Passionate about giving back and pursuing volunteer opportunities, Chanelle aspires to work for a fashion or beauty company that includes philanthropy in its core values. If you like Chanelle’s writing, check out her blogs here and here. We have the most talented interns ever and we’re so proud of them! For over 20 years, the Campus Clipper has been offering awesome student discounts in NYC,  from the East Side to Greenwich Village. Along with inspiration, the company offers students a special coupon booklet and the Official Student Guide, which encourage them to discover new places in the city and save money on food, clothing and services.