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Thoughts for the pessimists
What makes your brain tick?
According to researchers, any part of your body, if you don't use it you lose
it, and particularly your brain, the more you use it the more brainy you become.
Human Motivation
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In the late
1960's, Abraham Maslow proposed the revolutionary idea that people
are ultimately motivated to grow and reach their potential.
At a time when most
psychologists thought motivation was driven by a need to make up for
some physical or psychological deficit.
Don't feel ashamed.
Maslow would say your feelings are completely normal. How can you
even think about anything else if your basic hunger drive is not
being satisfied?
Maslow would
certainly agree that we have to put first things first - basic needs
have to be met before we search for higher ground.
If we're starving,
worries about our self-esteem take a back seat. Let's face it: If
you're hungry enough, you'd consider selling your firstborn for a
hamburger.
Maslow believed our
basic needs naturally formed a hierarchy, from primitive to more
advanced goals. |
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Maslow Hierarchy:
- At the very bottom are our most basic
biological needs, like hunger and thirst.
- The next rung up the ladder is our need for
safety and security.
- In the middle are our needs for knowledge and
a sense of belonging and,
- at the very top, are the spiritual needs that
allow us to identify with all of mankind.
Of course, not all of us get to the top of the
ladder before our time on earth runs out.
Maslow's optimistic view of human motivation was
a breath of fresh air, or was it?
A Harvard psychologist David Murray first
identified the 'need for achievement' refers to differences between individuals
in their drive to meet a variety of goals.
- When your need for achievement
is high, you're energized and focused toward success and motivated to
continually evaluate and improve your performance.
- When channeled properly, this
can be an organizing force in linking your thoughts, feelings and actions.
What's the moral in these stories?
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