Self-Actualization

Whole topic looks like self-awareness or self-realization. Did i guess right??

Well, i wrote down this on my notepad and will be thinking on it.

 

excellent thread!

 

I studied this last semester!!!
I hope someday to be self-actualized, although I know that few people actually do.

 

Do you think true self-actualization is possible?

Yes

Is the pursuit of self-actualization a worthy goal?

No

Why or why not?

Because, considering to this information, self-actualized person is open to his and other people ideas. I just believe that if I would concentrate on a goal to been self-actualized, I would be stuck in a wish of self-actualization, and instead of actual growing, I just simple would think about the possibilities of it.

What are the obstacles today which make it difficult to self-actualize?

I think that the reason why it is so dificult to do it, is that, true acceptance need no fear. In a history were too many hurtings that it would be so easy to become open.

What Is Self-Actualization?

Social growing.

 

Do you think true self-actualization is possible? Absolutely yes.

Is the pursuit of self-actualization a worthy goal? Yes and no.

Why or why not? As an overarching momentum in one's life it is good to pursue inner truth, connection to our higher self. This comes through many, many types of life experience that create a balance of different kinds of inputs. It also takes time for things to simmer. And herein lies the problem with making it a goal...our initial assumptions about how this plays out are usually wrong. If we attack this as a goal to be attained and possessed we will be chasing the wrong thing. Time is needed...just stay on the good path, work through what you can, seek your highest good at all times. It'll work out much better that way.

What are the obstacles today which make it difficult to self-actualize? Disconnects from traditional wisdom, too much noise, fear.

 

Do you think true self-actualization is possible? I think it's possible, though I may not fully agree with the definition. Who can say what any given person's potential is or if it's nesessary to reach your full potential? A person may like to sing, but does that mean they should pursue a career in music or could they merely enjoy singing in the shower?
Is the pursuit of self-actualization a worthy goal? Why or why not? I don't think of it as a goal, but rather an organic process. I believe it's achieved through life experience, acquired wisdom, and realizing what's most important to you.
What are the obstacles today which make it difficult to self-actualize?
American culture is an obstacle as it promotes values such as amassing wealth and conformity. Aspiring to these "false potentials" distracts us from pursuing a more innate sense of self-fulfillment. We're continually exposed to negative images from every corner of society -- from suicide bombings to celebrity scandals. In order to avoid a sense of despair it may be necessary to employ a filter and carve out a small niche in the world in which it's possible to achieve self-actualization. Finally, self-actualization may be a luxury of the relatively weathly, as much of the world's population can't even meet their basic needs due to poverty and and war.

 

True....one might be better off just forgetting about reaching some goal and enjoy the journey for what it is.

 

Do you think true self-actualization is possible? No

Is the pursuit of self-actualization a worthy goal? Hell yes

Why or why not?

Let's see:

Shedding the ego
Accepting yourself and others, not trying to control or change them, but to help when they ask for it.
Solving problems to help people, animals, the planet.
Maximizing your potential as a human being which means not taking advantage of the gifts we have been given.
Looking past idiot generalizations and rationalities that others use to convolute; seeing the "big picture."
Looking at the small things in life to gain inspiration and hope.



What are the obstacles today which make it difficult to self-actualize?

Peer pressure, society, greed, selfishness, society, instinctual impulses, apathy, society, perceived success, fear, did I mention society?

 

Hmmm very interesting.

But does someone need to manifest all of these characteristics to be self actualized? Or is it just the majority that suits you? Does being self actualized necessarily mean that you are happy? I think even people who consider themselves self actualized posses only some of these characteristics.

Hmmmmmm

 

Perhaps I should change my initial answer.

I believe others can judge someone as self actualized, but you can never label yourself as being "complete."

I believe that life is about living, learning, loving, and dying. I consistently strive to better myself. Truthfully, anyone that tells me they are complete or they no longer need to strive to grow loses a lot of credibility and influence over me. I think to some extent arrogance and ignorance both manifest from the belief you are perfect or you are at least at a point where you no longer need to grow.

I believe I can learn SOMETHING from every single person on the planet. However, there are certain people that I simply cannot be around extensively because my emotions consume me.

I have been on both sides of the coin of many of these situations, and I struggle to learn from each experience.

So with all of this in mind, self-actualization would equal perfection which is not attainable, but something to strive for.

 

I am hung here to get my answer.

 

This is a good distinction to make because I think self-actualization does not equate to completeness. "Complete" cannot belong to us in the finite realm. I think those who are self-actualized know this better than most. No, self actualization has to do more with facing, making peace with, and thereby finding a degree of liberation in the midst of our own very real (and limited) humanity in a very real world.

 

Ok, so you describe it as more of a process than a state. That was how I had thought of it initially but then I thought of "self-actualized" as a state of being which was what threw me off.


Thanks!

 

Truthfully I probably see it as both. Thing is, self-actualization does not make one immune to pain, or sadness, or searching, or questioning. It might simply means that one has come to not be scandalized by it, whether in ourselves, others, or the world at large. This is a pretty big shift really and generally involves as much letting go and deconstructing as it does growing and learning. In a sense one are liberated to engage more fully, both in joy and in pain, without fear or loss.

 

well said

 

Do you think true self-actualization is possible?
No. Because it's a process, a never ending process. When one thinks they're reached that place, they're probably still far from it. I'd say someone who's self-actualized will realize that life is a giant world, to say the least.

Is the pursuit of self-actualization a worthy goal? Yes.

Why or why not? To make oneself, and others, and the world, better.

What are the obstacles today which make it difficult to self-actualize?
Our own ego and bias hindering our growth, or the world actively or not blocking us from growing.