Change - friend or foe

Change is challenging. When we are asked to step outside of what is familiar to us and to try something new, there is always a chance that we will fail, that we will look incompetent, that we will encounter problems, that we will end up worse off than we are now. Our self-preservation instincts honed during our cave-man days tell us to avoid danger and threat at all costs. They tell us to play it safe and not expend any extra energy if we don’t have to. They tell us that the status quo and its known problems are more secure than our vision for the future.

In addition to our cave-man instincts though, humans have an innate desire to grow, learn, explore, create and achieve. As we have evolved past the dangers of being eaten by saber tooth tigers, the possibilities for fulfillment and meaning in life have grown exponentially. We want to thrive rather than to merely survive. The drive which pushes us to expand our horizons, pursue education, learn new skills, take up new hobbies, and do good for the world is part of this striving for fulfillment.

While change can still feel scary, intimidating, and overwhelming, especially when it is forced upon us, it can also be exhilarating, energizing and appealing. This pull toward change and growth can be explained in part by Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs developed by Abraham Maslow in the 1940s and 1950s. Maslow was part of the humanistic school of thought asserting that in order to understand a person one must understand all of their needs and their human nature.

From Survival to Self-Actualization

Malsow’s Hierarchy of Needs begins with a base consisting of our basic needs for survival – food, water, shelter, sleep. Without this foundation, we do not seek to learn and grow, we seek only to survive. Can you imagine trying to do your best work in class if you were consistently hungry or didn’t have a secure place to live? Probably not!

Once we have our basic needs for survival met, we can move on to the second level of the pyramid – safety and security. Our need for safety and security is often what causes our reluctant to embrace change. Remember that cave-man brain and the status quo? “You are safe right where you are! Why take unnecessary risks?” it says. Luckily, the pull of the needs higher up on the pyramid is strong and can often draw us past our need for safety and into more interesting pursuits.

The next level of the hierarchy is friendship, love and belonging. Humans aren’t quite the herd animals we used to be when our lives depended upon the other members of the tribe and our willingness to work together to secure the two lower levels of needs, but we are still highly social creatures who depend on each other for support, guidance, and encouragement. There is still safety in numbers and a strong desire to be accepted by the group.

The next level of the hierarchy is self-esteem and respect. This is where things start to get interesting. We have moved pretty far past mere survival at this point and have started to think about integrity, authenticity, achievement, status, excellence, and progress. It is in this stage of development that we pursue higher education, we invent solutions to common problems, we provide aid to those less fortunate than we are, we dream about the future and we police ourselves into working within larger organizations to pursue a greater good.

The final level of the hierarchy is one which some of us spend time thinking about but few of us ever achieve. Self-actualization is when we understand the meaning of life, we have risen above the petty challenges of the average person, we have overcome our baser instincts and have achieved our potential.

Firash’s story

A young man, let’s call him Firash, lived in the slums outside of the city of Johannesburg in South Africa. His shack was made of scrap metal and patched with pieces of cardboard. Disease, crime and violence were rampant in the slums. Food was scarce and local water supplies were polluted with waste. Firash was existing at the lowest level of the Maslow hierarchy. His mere survival was in question every day.

One day, a rich American came to the slums and declared that he wanted to improve the lives of those who lived there. Firash happened to be nearby when the man arrived. He told the rich American about his dream of leaving the slums and providing a better life for his family. The man offered to buy Firash and his family a small plot of land outside of the slums where he could farm and live in a permanent shelter. This move elevated Firash and his family out of abject poverty and into the second level of the Maslow Hierarchy. They still had to work very hard on their farm and were at risk of crime from those who still lived in the slums, but they were no longer fighting for survival.

Soon, the rich American had purchased plots of land for 15 other families. The families formed a small village. They lent a hand on each other’s farms, watched each other’s children, took turns guarding the village to eliminate crime and socialized in the evenings. The community they formed allowed them to move up into the third level on the Maslow Hierarchy.

It wasn’t long before the families in the village started to experiment with different farming techniques and crops. They shared farming tips with each other and built an irrigation system to serve all of the farms in the settlement. Their crop yields increased dramatically and they were able to sell some of their extra crops in Johannesburg. Affluent families in the city were impressed with the quality of the crops and complimented them on their farming skills. They had reached the next stage of the Maslow Hierarchy.

Firash then founded a charity which all of the members of the village joined. They decided to use the extra profits from their sales of crops to benefit others in the slums and help to lift them out of poverty. This charity gave them purpose and meaning in their lives and helped them to achieve the last level of the Maslow Hierarchy – self-actualization.

Your reaction to change

Firash experienced a lot of changes as he moved through the hierarchy to achieve self-actualization. He is a fictional character, so I made the change easy for him, but change - even positive change - is not always so effortless. How do you experience change? Do you see it as a threat, reacting to it from the second level of the hierarchy? Do you fight against change or hide from challenges which seem too far beyond your skill level? Do you fear losing the benefits of the position you currently have in the hearts and minds of your friends and the respect they have for you?

Or do you see change as a challenge? Change is often an opportunity for growth, a catalyst for learning, a chance to see the world and your role in it in a new way. Do you embrace change and the potential positives which come with it? Do you see it as a way to get better at the skills you already have, to increase your chances for future success, to make more and deeper connections with others, to get closer to your ideal self and your vision for the future?

The answer is most likely, “It depends.” Fair enough. Some changes are easier than others. Some changes offer a clearer path toward our desire future than others do. Some are more difficult and threatening to all levels of needs than others are. The next time you are presented with change or an opportunity to try something new, ask yourself which level of need you are responding to the opportunity with and strive to maximize your position on the pyramid.