Here’s a more complete excerpt from Francis Heyghlihen’s paper on Maslow’s self-actualizing personality that I identify with so well: When all these [lower] needs [physiological needs, safety, belonging, esteem] are satisfied, we are left with the last one, the highest need, the need for self-actualization. This need is fundamentally different from the previous ones, in the sense that all the previous ones can be conceived as drives towards the reduction of a deficiency. … Self-actualization, on the other hand, may be called a growth need, in the sense that deviations from the previously reached equilibrium state are not reduced, but enhanced, made to grow, in a deviation-amplifying positive feedback loop. … Because of the positive feedback, self-actualization is not a fixed state, but a process of development which does not end. The word derives from the idea that each individual has a lot of hidden potentialities: talents or competences he or she could develop, but which have as yet not come to the surface. Self-actualization signifies that these potentialities of the self are made actual, are actualized in a continuing process of unfolding. According to Maslow, self-actualization corresponds to ultimate psychological health. … An interesting case is the situation where all the lower level needs have been satisfied, but the highest need, self-actualization, has not. In that case you have a person who apparently has everything to be happy: a comfortable and safe environment, a loving family, friendship and respect from peers, a sense of personal achievement… Yet the individual will not be really happy, because he has no longer a goal to live for, he has achieved everything he wanted. This will result in feelings of boredom and meaninglessness, which might even lead to suicide, unless the person becomes aware that there is more to life than reducing deficiencies, that is to say unless he becomes aware of his need for self-actualization. … Maslow’s study was carried out by an analysis of the biographies of historical and public figures (such as Lincoln, Spinoza, Einstein, Eleanor Roosevelt, etc.) and by observation and interviewing of a few contemporaries, who were rigourously selected on the basis of absence of any signs of neurotic behavior, together with the presence of positive signs of psychological health or well-being, the criteria for which were derived from previous observations. To Maslow’s amazement these highly disparate personalities appeared to have many non-trivial characteristics in common, which together could be taken to define a new personality type. … Perhaps the most striking feature of self-actualizing persons is their openness to experience: they are eager to undergo new experiences, learn new ideas and skills, try out new things. This also applies if the new observations do no fit into their existing schemata or contradict their previous opinions. The result is that in general they have what Maslow calls an accurate perception of reality: in contrast to ordinary people they do not tend to deny, repress or deform perceptions in order to make them fit their prejudices, a tendency which is well-documented in traditional psychology. There is also no contradiction between what they experience or feel on a intuitive level, and what they think on a conscious, rational level. A general reason for this openness may be that self-actualizers are attracted towards the unknown, rather than afraid of it like most people. Together with this openness to new stimuli, there is a tendency to experience old, well-known stimuli in a new way, what Maslow calls freshness of appreciation. A self-actualizer may walk for the thousandth time through the same street, yet suddenly experience beauty and excitement as if he or she saw it for the first time. Such sense of beauty, wonder or revivification is usually triggered by the same type of objects or situations; depending upon the individual, these may be: nature, children, in certain cases sex or music. Sometimes these spontaneous feelings of awe and wonder become so intense, that they may be called mystical or peak experiences. Attitude towards problems The behavior of self-actualizers is generally characterized by spontaneity or naturalness. They do not tend to wear masks or play roles, or feel inhibited or restricted in their thoughts, feelings and actions. They are not afraid that what they are doing might be wrong or that other people might think so. This spontaneity is also expressed by their general creativity, which is not of the specialized, “Mozart” type, where someone may create outstanding things in one restricted area (e.g. music), but behave in a quite inhibited and immature way in other areas. Self-actualizing creativity consists rather of a general playful attitude towards problem-solving and self-expression which assumes that the conventional way to do it is not necessarily the best way. This applies as well in the intellectual domains of art, science and philosophy, as in everyday tasks such as decorating the house. This lack of inhibition or tension may be understood by their general attitude of acceptance towards nature, people and themselves: they do not feel unhappy, anxious, ashamed or guilty because of apparent constraints or shortcomings they cannot change, such as the weather, physiological processes (e.g. urination, pregnancy, menstruation, etc.), or old age. They will only feel bad about discrepancies between what is, and what might be or ought to be. Their intrinsic stability allows them to maintain a relative serenity in situations of deprivation, failure or disaster. … Social interactions Their relations with other people, society and culture are characterized first of all by their autonomy. They do not really need other people, and they make their decisions for themselves, without having to rely on the opinions of others, or on the rules, conventions and values imposed by society. They like solitude and detachment, and have a need for privacy and independence. Their world view is generally independent of the particular culture or society in which they live, and they pay little attention to the social conventions, though they will superficially respect them if transgressing the rules would bring about needless conflicts. On the other hand, self-actualizers have a general feeling of empathy and kinship towards humanity as a whole. They tend to be friendly towards everybody they meet, especially towards children. They are willing to listen to, and especially learn from, people of any class, race, age, religion or ideology, without being inhibited by prejudices (Maslow calls this a democratic character structure). They are capable of more intense and profound interpersonal relations than other people, though they are highly selective about which people they relate to, preferring that company which allows them to be spontaneous. The intimate friends and lovers of self-actualizers are in general close to self-actualization themselves. Self-actualizing relationships are characterized by extreme sincerity, self-disclosure and intimacy, by the dropping of all defense mechanisms. Sexuality can be deeply enjoyed, yet it does not take an important place in the system of values of a self-actualizer. They are quite uninhibited about sex, willing to experiment with different roles (which may go as far as resembling sado-masochism), but they are in no way obsessed by it, and will in general not look for sex without affection. Self-actualizing love is characterized as well by respect for the other’s autonomy as by ego-transcending identification of the partners’ needs, as well by profound concern and care for the other’s well-being as by playfulness and laughter. Imperfections and peculiarities The above description may have created an impression of an almost saintly perfection, but it must be understood that self-actualizers have their weaknesses and difficulties too. From the principle of bounded rationality we may infer that self-actualizers make errors as well as other persons, though in general they will be faster in admitting and correcting them. Moreover reaching self-actualization is not a matter of all-or-none, but a never-ending, gradual process of improvement. In spite of this continuity between more and less self-actualizing levels of development, there are clear qualitative differences between self-actualizers and “normal” people. This may be exemplified by problems and difficulties which are typical for self-actualizers. Since society is based on the behavior and values of the majority, we may expect that self-actualizers, which form a very small minority (Maslow is not clear about which percentage of the population they constitute, though we may estimate less than 1 in 1000), will not be really at home in or adapted to their culture. According to Maslow, “they sometimes feel like spies or aliens in a foreign land and sometimes behave so”. Their detachment and unconventionality will often be interpreted as discourtesy, lack of respect or affection, or even as hostility. Their unemotional and clear-cut decision-making in the treatment of others, e.g. in cutting off unsatisfactory relations, may seem cold and ruthless. Their philosophical, unhostile sense of humor, makes them look rather serious in the eyes of ordinary people. In certain situations their problem concentration may be exacerbated into stubbornness, absent-mindedness and shortness of temper. A more general difficulty “normal people” have with self-actualizers is simply to understand them, since they behave and think in a quite unusual manner. In particular it is difficult to situate them along one of the many dimensions or polarities which are used to describe ordinary personality types and behaviors, such as: selfish-altruistic, extravert-introvert, active-passive, intuitive-rational, sensual-spiritual, serious-playful, etc. Self-actualizers are neither selfish (extravert, active, etc.), nor altruistic (introvert, passive, etc.), nor somewhere in between: their behavior is somehow selfish and altruistic at the same time, because what they like for themselves is in general also good for others. This is what Maslow calls transcendence of dichotomies. They often do not make a choice between two apparently opposite behaviors, but find a way of solving the problem which synthesizes the advantages of the two alternatives, without the disadvantages. This capacity for “dialectical synthesis” is perhaps the characteristic which most fundamentally distinguishes them from average people, and which makes it difficult to situate them in one of the conventional psychological classifications of personality types. … I want to propose another fundamental factor: cognition. It is striking that many, if not most, of the characteristics of self-actualizers listed by Maslow are cognitive: accurate perception, creative problem-solving, effective decision-making, high capacity for learning, etc. Self-actualizers give an impression of a superior, flexible intelligence. … Self-actualization as perceived competence What seems essential for SA, however, is not the (subjective or objective) actual gratification of needs, but the fact that the subject feels competent to find gratification. For example, it is not because a self-actualizer feels thirsty (frustration of his physiological need), or is alone (frustration of his belongingness need), that suddenly he is not longer a self-actualizer. Such a need frustration will not change the personality structure, world view or self-image of the subject, as long as the subject knows that he is able to get gratification in due time (i.e. in a short term for urgent, lower needs, in a longer term for higher needs). The subject is aware that he can solve the problem easily, e.g. by drinking a glass of water in case of thirst (in ten minutes), by going to see a friend in case of solitude or lack of feedback (next week), or by getting enroled for a university program in case of frustration of the need for learning (next year). Having redefined the origin of SA as the perceived competence to satisfy basic needs in due time, we must proceed to analyse the components of this competence. First, in order to be competent, you must obviously dispose of the needed resources for solving the problem: you cannot satisfy your thirst, if you are in a desert without water; you cannot go and see a friend if you are marooned on an uninhabited island; you cannot enrol in a university course if you are in jail. This may be called material competence. Second, it is not sufficient that the needed resources are there, you must also be able to recognize them, find them and apply them effectively. Except in trivial cases, problem-solving demands cognitive competence, i.e. knowledge, intelligence and creativity. Finally, the third component of perceived competence is the subjective awareness of competence. It is not sufficient that the resources are there, and that you are capable to find them: if you are convinced that you cannot solve the problem, you will not be motivated to do the necessary search for the resources, even if they are very easy to find. This component may be called subjective competence. … Self-actualizers are characterized by: a simple, accepting attitude towards their physiological needs, a great self-confidence, autonomy and stability in the face of frustration and danger, yet a profound flexibility and creativity in learning and discovering new ideas. This is particularly clear in their problem-solving attitude: their stable system of values allows them to make decisions without hesitation if this is necessary, yet they will withhold judgment and explore alternative distinctions, if there is still insufficient certainty to make an informed decision, and if a decision is not urgently needed. The flexible superstructure provides the platform for all the typical traits of self-actualizers: creativity, openness, spontaneity, unconventionality and especially transcendence of dichotomies. Indeed, what Maslow calls a “dichotomy” is just a rigid distinction, which is not necessarily adapted to the specific context. In contrast to other people, self-actualizers are not bound to the once learned distinctions, but are able to change them in a way which takes into account the unique characteristics of the specific situation.