The Motivation Blueprint
How the Mind Prioritizes Our Basic Needs
Our actions are driven by physiological and psychological needs that progress from essential to complex. Some theories suggest that we are motivated by instincts, drives, or arousal levels. Others propose that our motivation stems from basic human needs, expectations, or a desire for external rewards.
Maslow’s Hierarchy Of Needs Theory
In his groundbreaking 1943 paper, “A Theory of Human Motivation,” Abraham Maslow proposed that human behavior is driven by a hierarchy of needs—starting with basic survival and progressing toward personal growth. Unlike the dominant psychological theories of his time, which focused on dysfunction, Maslow took a humanistic approach, emphasizing what drives people to thrive. He believed humans are naturally motivated to become the best version of themselves—a state he called self-actualization—but only after foundational needs like food, safety, love, and self-esteem are met. These needs, which he viewed as instinctual, form the five-tiered structure known as Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (Taormina & Gao, 2013).
The Five-Tiered Needs
1. Physiological Needs
These biological requirements are essential for human survival, including air, food, water, shelter, clothing, warmth, sexual reproduction, and sleep. According to Maslow, our most fundamental need is physical survival, which initially drives our behavior (McLeod et al., 2025). When these basic needs are unmet, psychological well-being can be directly affected.
2. Safety Needs
Once physiological needs are satisfied, the focus shifts to safety and security—critical for a stable life. At this level, the desire for control and predictability becomes central. People need to feel secure through financial stability, health, protection from harm, and a sense of social order (McLeod et al., 2025).
Examples of safety needs include:
Physical Safety: Protection from accidents or injury
Financial Security: Stable income, employment, housing
Emotional Safety: Support from loved ones, trust in social systems
Social Stability: Law enforcement, healthcare, and education
Safety is not only fulfilled through tangible means but also a perceived sense of control. Systems like government, police, and community structures offer reassurance, even in uncertain times.
3. Love and Belonging
After safety is established, humans naturally seek emotional connection. This level reflects our need for interpersonal relationships, social connection, and a sense of belonging. Feeling accepted is vital for emotional health and motivation.
Examples of these needs include:
Friendships
Romantic Relationships
Family Bonds
Social Groups and Clubs
Religious or Spiritual Communities
Belonging provides a sense of identity and support. When these needs go unmet, individuals may experience loneliness, anxiety, or depression (McLeod et al., 2025).
4. Esteem Needs
Once belonging is met, we seek esteem—a desire for self-respect and recognition. At this stage, people crave accomplishment, confidence, and validation.
Esteem needs fall into two categories:
Internal: Self-esteem, achievement, independence, mastery
External: Respect from others, recognition, status, prestige
Self-worth is shaped by both personal achievements and external validation. A lack of esteem can lead to feelings of inferiority or failure (McLeod et al., 2025)
5. Self-Actualization Needs
The highest level of Maslow’s hierarchy involves realizing one’s full potential. It includes self-fulfillment, personal growth, and what Maslow called “peak experiences”—moments of intense joy and meaning. Individuals here strive to become their most authentic selves.
Maslow (1943, 1987) described this level as “the desire to accomplish everything that one can, to become everything that one is capable of becoming” (McLeod et al., 2025). People at this stage are self-aware, autonomous, and guided by internal values.
True self-actualization is rare, but Maslow believed most people can experience brief states of it through peak moments of insight and clarity.
The Expanded Hierarchy Of Needs
It is important to note that Maslow’s (1943, 1954) five-stage model has been expanded to include cognitive and aesthetic needs (Maslow, 1970a) and later transcendence needs (Maslow, 1970b).
Cognitive Needs
Desire for knowledge, understanding, exploration, and meaning
Examples: Studying complex theories, cultural exploration, philosophical reflection
Aesthetic Needs
Appreciation of beauty, balance, form, and artistic expression
Fulfilled through art, nature, design, and harmony
Transcendence Needs
Motivation is driven by values beyond the self
Examples: Altruism, spiritual connection, unity with the universe, service to others
Key Things To Keep In Mind
It's important to understand that these needs are not necessarily in this order. Sometimes we could jump from one to the next as we continue this journey of self-development. Here are a few key patterns that often go hand-in-hand with this process:
Deficiency Needs: We cannot function when we've got this long-term chronic deprivation of our physiological needs. We need those to live.
Our focus: We focus on our higher needs but our primary needs are always present. Moving forward when we are still focusing on our primary needs makes it more difficult to move up on the pyramid.
Belonging: Despite popular belief, we cannot survive on our own. We are a social species, survive in groups and there seems to be a need in us that corresponds to that ( Holzknecht, 2007).
Our drive: we need to feel like we're confident in those important areas of our lives. Socially we want to feel like we are confident at making people like us, at being appropriate socially so that people accept us. We need a positive environment to be able to support our self-esteem and mental health. We need to find self-confidence only after that we will be able to move on.
Finding meaning: When we are pursuing those things that make our life meaningful and purposeful and when we can focus less on ourselves and more on what's going on in the world around us. It's very important to have peak experiences in life. Ah, these are moments of great joy and happiness.
How The Theory Shows Up in Today
In a modern world filled with endless choices, distractions, and pressures, Maslow’s theory is more relevant than ever. Most of us aren’t struggling for food or shelter, but that doesn’t mean our needs are fully met. Many people live in a constant loop of anxiety, loneliness, or burnout — stuck between safety and esteem without realizing it. We chase promotions, followers, or the next productivity hack hoping to feel fulfilled, but often skip over core needs like connection or emotional security. Personally, I’ve been navigating the emotional weight of job searching — not just for a title or paycheck, but for stability. The uncertainty affects more than my calendar or inbox; it reaches into my sense of safety and self-worth. Financial security isn’t just a practical need — it’s a psychological one. Maslow reminds us that growth isn’t about hustle alone — it’s about building from the inside out, layer by layer. In a time when “busy” is glorified, this theory grounds us.
So ask yourself these questions:
What do you really need right now?
What are you reaching for next?
Conclusion
The way Maslow's hierarchy of needs can be applied best for us is for each of us to be aware that we have all of these needs and that we need to take care of them and look after them to have a life that is self-actualizing at least some of the time. The hierarchy of needs can help us not only to be better people, but at the end of the day, it is also the fundamental beginning of helping other people. The need that's gonna be mainly in focus depends on a bunch of characteristics, including the state of the economy and the person's characteristics. We need to see the whole picture, and Maslow gives us the entire image. All we have to do is ask the questions and fill in the blanks.
References
McLeod, S., on, U., & 14, M. (2025, March 14). Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html
Taormina, R. J., & Gao, J. H. (2013). Maslow and the motivation hierarchy: Measuring satisfaction of the needs. The American Journal of Psychology, 126(2), 155–177. https://doi.org/10.5406/amerjpsyc.126.2.0155
James Holzknecht (Producer), & . (2007). Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. [Video/DVD] Castalia Media. https://video.alexanderstreet.com/watch/maslow-s-hierarchy-of-needs