Every 20th of a month we try to write something about our students. This time we change the format a little and allow our student to write an article. Gill Umair is our typical student: smart, energetic, entrepreneurial. Gill took several sessions with Anna, and after reaching his goals reading goals continues to be mentored by Lev. Gill is not only a talented engineer, but also a very active life coach helping people around him reach their potential. Below is his article.
What human beings can be, they must be
Abraham Maslow truly captured my philosophy in life in his book “Motivation and Personality.” He believed that one can only be motivated if one seeks fulfillment through personal growth which would then lead to self-actualization. What you can be, then you must be!
We must self-actualize. We must not waste our potentials; we must live up to them and embrace them. If you believe that you can be something then you must work your way to be that something. These are not mere desires or wishes but actual needs in order for one to be truly happy in his or her life. If these needs are not fulfilled, it would feel like you’ve lost a limb because you won’t feel complete.
We are all individuals and our self-actualizations vary from one person to another. Just like what Maslow said, “Take the form of the desire to be an excellent parent, in another it may be expressed athletically, and in still another it may be expressed in painting pictures or in inventing things.” Still according to Maslow, self-actualizing individuals have “superior awareness of their own impulses, desires, opinions, and subjective reactions in general.”
The road to self-actualization can be scary sometimes but it is in our hands on how we’re going to face it. Maslow said that we have two choices: to step forward into growth or to step back into safety. Think of the number line. You start at the origin which is zero and every time you step forward is a +1 and step backward is a -1. You’ll notice that the difference between the two points is two and not one. In the end, where do you want to be, at +10,000 or at -10,000? Live a positive life, step forward.
Maslow also believed that we can improve our lives by being grateful of the little things instead of being upset that something went wrong. Here’s a similar mantra of mine: It is not happy people who are thankful, it is thankful people who are happy. Just think of how interconnected we are as humans and the little efforts each contributes to society. In a way, we are helping each other and should be thankful for one another.
Hardships and failures are inevitable. But that’s okay! Let’s not be too hard on ourselves. Mistakes and failures will help us learn and grow. Remember that nobody is perfect and that the desire for perfection is pointless. Find out who you want to be and be just that. Live a blissful life.
Everyone can grow to be a better person. All it takes is true personal commitment. Everything else comes with time.
