Wednesday, February 7, 2018

Abraham Maslow and Me: We May Just Change the World

Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs has been widely used in business to help employers understand employee motivation. Maslow's theory states that humans are motivated to fulfill needs hierarchically. Typically represented in a triangle with five sections, the lowest-and widest-section of the triangle is the most pressing. Once fulfilled one is motivated to seek fulfillment of the next section and so on. The needs are as follows from bottom to top (as represented in the triangle):

1-Physiological Needs - Food/Water
2-Security Needs - Shelter/Safety
3-Belongingness Needs - Socialization/Friendship
4-Esteem Needs - Status Within Community
5-Self Actualization Needs - Achievement

The basic premise here is that if you are starving, its hard to focus on achievement. If you don't feel safe, you don't have the full resources (mental faculties) to concentrate on much else until you feel safe again. 

In business Maslow's theory gets applied much in the same way. For my social activism goals it directly applies to what my nonprofit will be doing in communities to end human-caused victimization. 

I am going to show the community how to be a community again using Maslow's theory. When I give workshops and lectures here in prison regarding personal change I have a metaphor I use, following the same principal.

If each person is a house, the government has condemned ours (prisoners) and have instructed us to go fix them. So we come to prison and get a hammer and nails. But, we soon realize we must carry a sword and shield to defend our home (our bodies, minds, and spirits) from attackers. In essence, we don't feel safe (tier 2) and until we feel safe, not much else is gonna get done. Its hard, impossible, to use a hammer and nail when you are carrying a sword and shield.

I will do this in the community, block by block if I have too. 

Me and Abraham Maslow are gonna change the world.

Wanna Help?

With Love
Jeff Jeffebelle 

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