As a psychology student you soon learn about the Pyramid of Maslow. As many might know, this is motivational theory in psychology comprising a five-tier model of human needs, often depicted as hierarchical levels within a pyramid. There are many different opinions and ideas circling about the pyramid. A recent article concluded that there is proof for the Pyramid of Maslow. It went so far to say that it would be relevant for the 21st-century psychology. I hear you say, why is all this important? Well, in the recent past years human-centrered thinking has been increasingly popular. Of course, filling the needs of people always has been a thing, but now human-centred design is rapidly growing. Now a day Design is everywhere, our cars, houses, clothes, products are all designed. The question is, how well do those things till this point has satisfied our needs? Human-centred thinking creates a way to maximize the satisfaction of the needs in the best way possible.
Now Design Thinking is a human-centred Design method used by many to satisfy the needs of customers. In the book, design your life, Bill Burnett and Dave Evans use the technique to let you find a way to life. I want to combine Design Thinking with the pyramid of Maslow to make a model of what needs you have, and how you can find a way to for fill them. With this, I hope to help you create a better all-around well-being for yourself.
Now the Pyramid of Maslow gives us five needs we all can for fill. Although, a recent article shows us that it’s not really a Pyramid because lowers needs do NOT need to be met before moving to another need. Therefore, I made a new way of visualizing the model (image 1). Articles about the model show is that every need can be for filled for a certain percentile.
Image 1:
As you can see every piece of the pie is a part Maslow's Pyramid. The way I see it, it starts at the physiological needs. You don't however need to fully for fill this need to work on the others. The needs are just more urgent. For instance, if you have to pick one, you will probably pick physiological in most cases. Now I would argue that every time you satisfy you physiological need more, it gives more room to develop the ones that are normally above it. However, I wouldn't argue that the circle every stop, you have to keep doing things to keep for filling them. Money doesn't buy happiness. It can however help you develop these levels. I think that you will gain more happiness the more you for fill every need. Maslow called this 'Happiness Health'. Later in the same book he called a self-actualised person happy, serene, self-accepting, unguilty, and at peace with himself only when he is fulfilling himself and becoming what he can be. These quotes imply that people who are highly self-actualizing should also be happier.
Not only do I want to help you to find the way to get to this level, but I also want to improve myself on this journey. So, let me lead the way and show you what is possible. And I hope you can create your own lifestyle that for fills as many needs as possible for you. Enjoy!
Sources:
http://academic.udayton.edu/jackbauer/Readings%20595/Tay%20Diener%2011%20needs%20WB%20world%20copy.pdf
http://journals.sagepub.com.proxy.hanze.nl/doi/pdf/10.1177/0022167818761929