Self-Actualisation

Self-Actualisation is the quest to become the best you can be. It involves deciding what you want from life and then doing what is necessary to get what you want.

Self-actualisation is a process of the brain that leads to learning and change when we make new connections and new distinctions. It can also involve the reorganisation of existing neurological connections that were designed for other purposes.

Self-actualisation is a process of self-development which the brain uses to add complexity, connecting up the parts in new ways to create order by making sense of the chaos. This creates new concepts that the brain can then draw on in its pursuit of order and satisfaction. Without continuous change life could not exist, so the brain has to operate at the edge of chaos and order to achieve balance and unified operation.

If the knowledge held by brain is too compartmentalised, the brain loses its sense of idenity or self-knowledge. This is what Abraham Maslow called 'deficiency-cognition'. The self-actualisation process can be seen clearly after brain injury, where previously unconnected parts of the brain spring into life to reconnect them in different ways. This rebuilds a person's capacity to speak or walk. The brain is constantly trying to actualise its potential for making connections that make sense to the self.

What has this process got to do with change ?
At first, self-actualisation leads to increased confusion due to increased division of brain functions. This happen when you start a new course of study and you feel you don't understand it. This can lead to resistance. This is because the brain is complex and the new information is rejected as 'not needed by me'. Emotionally it feels unpleasant because the learning feels like a struggle. However, the need to make sense of new information is also strong which aids the process of looking for connections. Change is painful because the learning activity demands a lot of energy, requiring discipline, commitment and hard work.

The term was coined by psychologist Abraham Maslow to describe the ongoing process of fully developing your personal potential.

The first thing to note about self-actualisation is that it is a process not a goal. In other words, self-actualisation is not something that you aim for: it is something that you do. The second thing to note is that self-actualisation is not restricted to high-profile, high-achieving individuals; you don't have to be famous to self-actualise.

Why is it necessary to enter the change zone ?
To continue the process of self-actualisation the energy and will has to be found to escape from your comfort zone into a chnage zone.

When we reach a point of acceptable happiness and relatively pain free existence we enter a 'comfort zone' and we stop developing. Further learning and change only seems to offer the threat of chaos, painful experiences and unhappiness. So what's the point ?

To enter the change zone you must acknowledge the need to manage and control the unhappiness and confusion that further self-actualisation will inevitably bring. The focus has to be on inner-leadership and self-knowledge, knowing what kind of person you are, finding out what you are capable of and understanding what increases your sense of satisfaction and peace of mind. To achieve this level of self-knowledge requires you to connect up all the dimensions of what makes you you. It is a growth process that enables you to transform the unhappiness you feel into personal satisfaction with who you are and how you connect with the wholeness of your existence..

Self-actualisation or change therefore involves the disciplines of personal learning, inner-leadership and self-coaching. It also requires the connecting up of a the energy sources that support the process found in the Dynamic Change Model.

Albert Ellis began a revolution in psychology when he created Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT). Ellis discovered that our personal development is held back by a number of beliefs that are common in our culture. Read more . .