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Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Revisited: Understanding Human Motivation Today

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs has shaped how many of us think about motivation and personal growth. But the familiar pyramid tells only part of the story. This article looks at the hierarchy as a living framework, and explores what happens when personal development gives way to something larger.


A pyramid showing Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
A pyramid showing Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Written by Coralie Bengoechea | 7 January 2026


Most people have seen the hierarchy of needs as a pyramid: food and shelter at the bottom, self-actualization at the top. It’s a helpful starting point, but taken too literally, it creates the wrong idea, that life progresses neatly from one level to the next.


In reality, it doesn’t work like that at all.

Human needs don’t line up in order. They move, overlap, and resurface depending on what’s happening in someone’s life. You don’t “finish” one level and move on forever. You revisit them again and again.


Later in his life, Maslow himself acknowledged something important: self-actualization isn’t the final stage. Many people move beyond personal growth into something broader: a stage focused on meaning, contribution, and connection beyond the individual self. This is often described as self-transcendence.


Seen this way, the hierarchy isn’t a ladder. It’s more like a map of what pulls our attention when something essential is missing.



How does the hierarchy of needs actually work?


A person can be working on multiple levels of the hierarchy at any one time.
A person can be working on multiple levels of the hierarchy at any one time.

Instead of asking “Which level am I on?”, a better question is: “Which need is loudest for me right now?”


That answer changes depending on stress, health, relationships, money, loss, or life transitions. Someone can be deeply creative while grieving, or spiritually committed while exhausted. Needs don’t cancel each other out, but they compete for priority.



What are the levels of need?


1. Physiological needs – the body first


The importance of health is often underestimated.
The importance of health is often underestimated.

This is basic, but often underestimated.


Sleep, food, hydration, rest, movement, and physical health set the limits of what’s possible mentally and emotionally. When these are off, everything else becomes harder. Insight doesn’t land properly. Motivation drops. Emotional regulation weakens.


Many people try to “think their way out” of exhaustion or burnout. Usually, the body just needs to be stabilised first.


2. Safety – stability and predictability


Safety and stability come in many different forms.
Safety and stability come in many different forms.

Safety isn’t only about physical danger. It’s about whether life feels stable enough to relax.


This includes money, housing, work security, access to healthcare, but also routine, boundaries, and not living in constant uncertainty. Even when things look fine from the outside, a person can feel unsafe internally if life is chaotic or unpredictable.


When safety is missing, the nervous system stays alert. Long-term growth becomes difficult, not because of lack of effort, but because the system is protecting itself.


3. Love and Belonging – connection matters more than we admit


Living with a sense of belonging is a fundamental human need.
Living with a sense of belonging is a fundamental human need.

Humans aren’t built to function alone.


Belonging includes close relationships, friendships, family, and community. These are places where you don’t have to perform or prove yourself. Prolonged loneliness affects motivation, confidence, and mental health more deeply than many people realise.


Trying to skip this level and focus only on independence or self-improvement often leads to feeling stuck or hollow.


4. Esteem – self-trust (not ego), respect, recognition, freedom


Improving self-esteem through practice.
Improving self-esteem through practice.

Esteem isn’t about status or praise. At its core, it is about trusting yourself.


That trust comes from:

  • developing skills

  • keeping promises to yourself

  • knowing your limits

  • feeling capable of handling life


External validation can help, but it doesn’t replace internal evidence. Confidence grows when you know you can act, learn, and recover when things don’t go as planned.


5. Self-actualisation – becoming more fully yourself


Practising meditation for self-actualisation.
Practising meditation for self-actualisation.

Self-actualisation is often misunderstood as constant happiness or peak performance, but it is not.

It’s more about alignment, and living in a way that feels true to who you are. It shows up through creativity, curiosity, meaningful work, learning, and honest self-expression.


This stage still requires effort. Growth here involves discipline, self-awareness, and facing internal resistance. It’s not an ending; it’s an ongoing process.


6. Self-transcendence – beyond personal fulfillment


A representation of a woman stepping out of her ego and achieving self-trascendence.
A representation of a woman stepping out of her ego and achieving self-trascendence.

Self-transcendence begins when personal growth stops being the main focus.

The question shifts from: “What do I want?” to “What am I here to contribute?”


This can take many forms: service, caregiving, spiritual practice, creative work offered to others, ethical commitment, or working toward something larger than individual success.

It doesn’t mean ignoring personal needs. It means identity widens beyond them. Fulfillment comes less from self-improvement and more from participation, contribution, and responsibility.


Modern culture places a lot of emphasis on optimizing the self: better habits, better productivity, better identity. Without self-transcendence, this can become exhausting and self-referential.


Self-transcendence introduces a different direction. Growth isn’t just for personal satisfaction anymore. It becomes something that flows outward.



Using the hierarchy in everyday life


Understanding the hierarchy for alignment and self-expression.
Understanding the hierarchy for alignment and self-expression.

The hierarchy is most useful when it’s practical.

Instead of pushing for insight or purpose, it helps to ask:

  • Am I rested enough?

  • Do I feel stable?

  • Am I connected?

  • Do I trust myself?

Often, the block isn’t psychological or spiritual. It’s a basic need asking for attention.

When that need is addressed, higher motivations tend to reappear on their own.



Conclusion


Consciously achieving one's full potential to align with the higher self.
Consciously achieving one's full potential to align with the higher self.

The hierarchy of needs isn’t about climbing toward some final version of yourself. It’s about understanding what supports human functioning, and recognising that at some point, growth naturally turns outward.


Self-transcendence isn’t above life. It’s what happens when life stops revolving only around you.



Want to explore further?




References


Simply Psychology. (n.d.). Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. A clear and accessible overview of Maslow’s original framework, including later extensions that incorporate self-transcendence beyond self-actualization. https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html

Llanos, A. (2022). From self-transcendence to collective transcendence. Research examining transcendence as both a personal and collective orientation, highlighting its relevance to community, shared meaning, and social responsibility. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8988189/

PositivePsychology.com. (2024). Hierarchy of needs: A modern perspective. A contemporary, practice-oriented review of Maslow’s hierarchy, including critiques of the traditional pyramid model and its relevance to modern well-being. https://positivepsychology.com/hierarchy-of-needs/

Self-Transcendence.org. (n.d.). Maslow’s hierarchy of needs revisited. A critical overview addressing common misunderstandings of the hierarchy and placing self-transcendence within Maslow’s broader thinking. https://self-transcendence.org/maslows-hierarchy-of-needs-revisited

ResearchGate / Stanford University. (n.d.). Self-transcendence: Maslow’s answer to cultural closeness. Academic discussion linking Maslow’s concept of self-transcendence to social, cultural, and global concerns such as inclusion and interconnectedness. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/331886859_Self-Transcendence_Maslow's_Answer_to_Cultural_Closeness

Greater Good Science Center, University of California, Berkeley. (n.d.). Maslow’s theory revisited. A reader-friendly perspective on Maslow’s theory, emphasizing meaning, connection, and contribution as central to human fulfillment. https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/maslows_theory_revisited

Transpersonal Psychology Research Network. (n.d.). Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and self-transcendence. A theoretical overview of Maslow’s full hierarchy within a transpersonal psychology framework, exploring why self-transcendence matters for understanding human motivation. https://transpersonal-psychology.iresearchnet.com/consciousness-and-self-transcendence/maslows-hierarchy-of-needs-and-self-transcendence/


 
 
 

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