Can you differentiate growth and self-actualization?

SITREP: Can you differentiate growth and self-actualization?
By: Cornelle D. Carney


I was recently informed by a former friend that I had not grown much. My first reaction to this was who gave him the title of growth measurer? Then, I began to ask myself what is growth? How can one determine growth? These questions led me to look more closely a growth.

Ironically enough, in one of my education classes, we were studying measuring a child’s growth and I came across this quote by Myles Horton: “You have to start where people are, because their growth is going to be from there, not from some abstraction of where you are or someone else is.” This is a perfect way determining how to measure growth. Which made me wonder did he measure my growth based on where he is or where I am?

Now this week in a psychology course that I am taking we are studying motivation, human development, sexuality and emotion. Maslow, a famous psychologist developed this hierarchy based up human needs:
1. Physiological needs (air, food, water, sleep, sex, etc.)
2. Safety and security (physical and emotional safety)
3. Love and Belonging (family, friendship, caring)
4. Esteem and self-esteem (the need to think well of oneself as well as for others to think well of him)
5. Self-actualization (full use of personal potential)

Maslow describes the first four levels as basic needs. He describes the fifth level as the need for personal growth by self-actualization. According to Maslow personal growth can be measured by one’s full use of personal potential.

So now the next question that develops is am I not fully using my personal potential? Is this what my growth was being measured by, my use of personal potential? Which made me develop a list of my personal potentials and self actualizations:

1. I have the potential to well educated. I am doing this by attending a post-secondary institution even as I am serving in Iraq. I will not stop at a bachelor degree nor at a master degree. I will earn a PhD.
2. I have the potential to own a house. This will be actualized when I activate my Veterans Administration home loan program.
3. I have the potential own a car. I do own a car now; fully paid for and insured.
4. I have the potential to do whatever I want…

I stopped at number four because I quickly realized that I have the potential to do whatever I want. So how can true growth be measured by the use of one’s personal potential? I have to side with Horton on this in recognizing growth from one point and a person’s life to another. I believe that realizing one’s personal potential is important in determine how much he can grow, but it is not the way of determining growth.

Constructive Criticism
As I try to determine the areas that I do well in and the areas that I need to realize my potential in I seek your assistance and support in helping me do so. You attention is desired, but I know a lot of you have other, more important things to do so I understand your not participating.

1. What are some areas that I do well in?
2. What are some areas that I should realize my self-potential and strive to do better?
3. What are your recommendations on how to self-actualized more?

Thanks for reading,
CDC

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Cornelle D. Carney