Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is one of the most groundbreaking theories of human psychology. It posits that human needs are hierarchical. We must satisfy the lower needs before we can satisfy the higher needs. There are 5 groups of humans needs.

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Listen to this episode of the Kaizen Creativity Podcast here:

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From the lowest to the highest, those needs are:

• 1- Psychological Needs (food, water, warmth)
• 2- Safety Needs (physical safety) 
• 3- Belongingness and Love Needs (Friends, intimate relationships)
• 4- Esteem Needs (prestige, accomplishments)
• 5- Self-Actualization Needs (achieving your full potential)

Creativity resides at the top of the pyramid. It’s a self-actualization need. This is an important clue as to why so many creative people are depressed. The basic needs for food, water, and safety, are absolute musts. They take priority over everything else.  

The need for belongingness and esteem aren’t musts though. This is what opens the door to problems. For SOME creative people, especially among various types of artists, there’s a tendency to place all your hopes on self-actualization. There’s an unconscious belief that creating a masterpiece will give you everything you want. This is a Faustian bargain. They’re essentially betting on 2 things being true.

First, that the gamble actually works. They push through and actually create a masterpiece. 

Second, they’re assuming that the masterpiece will automatically fill in the rest of their human needs. One only needs to look at the behaviors of famous people to realize this isn’t a guarantee. Famous artists feel the constant stress of having to live up to their fan base’s expectations. They take anti-depressants. They get addicted to drugs. They fall down like any other human. Instead of having their needs for esteem met, they’re replaced with the belief that they must fight to keep it. 

Jim Carrey, one of the exceedingly rare creative people that have found both ultra-success and happiness, said this: “I wish everyone could experience being rich and famous, so they’d see it wasn’t the answer to anything.”

The lesson here is simple. Don’t flip the pyramid on its head. Being hard on yourself won’t inspire you to be more creative, it will only leave you exhausted. Don’t assume that some creative masterpiece will save you or that the ends will justify the means. Creativity is a part of who you are. It will still be there if you focus on yourself for awhile. I hope you take this weekend to get aligned. Get your pyramid in order. It probably won’t happen in a single day, but that’s OK. Point your creativity inwards. 

If you’ve been living with an incomplete pyramid for awhile now, then you deserve it. You’ve likely told yourself that the outcome will justify the means. I’ve fallen for this exact same thing myself. You deserve to be happy. 

And for the ultra-competitive listeners, you deserve to know what your capable of when you’re fully aligned. If you’ve ever gotten a full night’s sleep and woken up feeling more productive and creative, you know what I mean. Sleep is a great example because it’s obvious. Tired people, are stupid people… and being ambitious will only help you create more stupid ideas. Go to bed. Get your human needs in order, then try again tomorrow. You’ll likely find a flood of ideas coming to you before you finish your morning coffee. 

Don’t flip your pyramid. Don’t ignore your human needs. Don’t take the long road to happiness.

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