Creativeness

Creativity in this area is not a talent, like being able to sing, dance, or paint. Creativity for the Self-Actualizer is their unique way of problem-solving and looking at the world.  Creativity is vital to the Self-Actualizer.  Maslow saw creativity as a process not a finished product.  Creativity allows the Self-Actualizer to forget their past or worry about the future, and allows them to be fully immersed in the now and they know that all their potential, all their power resides in the now.

Self-Actualizers have a tendency to approach everything in a creative manner. They thrive on creativity because for them it is rooted in real world of nature rather than the verbalized world of concepts and they are constantly looking at the bigger picture, while grounded in reality. - Maslow

This makes Self-Actualizers great at problem solving, because they think outside of the box.  This way of looking at life also makes them appear courageous.  They are willing to explore the unknown, which include the mysteries that reside within all of us.  Most people, when presented with the unknown, retreat or move away.  The Self-Actualizer will approaches the unfamiliar as part of the process of figuring out the problem and enter into it unafraid and joyously.  Creativity is the way they appear to feed their soul because in this process they are inspired.   Their attitude to problems is that of a visionary, able to solve things with imagination and an inventiveness that can mystify any person observing the process.  

Altruistic

Self-Actualizers are not egotistical, especially in dealing with problems.  Maslow called this attribute as problem-centered, because these people are much more focused on the greater good of others than themselves when dealing with problems. This is the opposite of how most people deal with problems.  It is as if they are focused on the problem from outside of themselves. 

Self-Actualizers feel a need call to fulfill a responsibility in the world, almost like a call to duty.  This mission may or may not be something that they want to do, none the less they feel this is something they must do,  This undertaking typically will require a great deal of their energy and classically has to do with something external, like being of service to a cause.  

Authentic

Maslow called Self-Actualizers: “spontaneous, simple, and natural”.   They are sincere with their emotions and how they display them.

"Their behavior is marked by simplicity and naturalness and by lack of artificiality or straining for effect. This does not necessarily mean consistently unconventional behavior. His unconventionality is not superficial but essential or internal. It is his impulses, thought, consciousness that are so unusually unconventional, spontaneous, and natural. Apparently recognizing that the world of people in which he lives could not understand or accept this, and since he has no wish to hurt them or to fight with them over every triviality, he will go through the ceremonies and rituals of convention with a good-humored shrug and with the best possible grace." - Maslow

Self-Actualizers are authentic, no pretense exists in them.  They are sensitive to people’s feelings and to avoid hurting anyone will adhere to social norms and in this way they are selfless and kind to others.  However, these circumstances are the exception, because their path is motivated by their need to continually expand.  

Quality of Detachment

The Self-Actualizer desires and gets great gratification in their solitude.  This ability to be alone and not feel loneliness is what Maslow called the “Quality of Detachment”.  It is not only because Self-Actualizers find privacy sacred, but because they have an air of aloofness to them.  Detachment for Maslow comprises of 

“...the need for privacy, the ability to remain above the battle, to remain unruffled and undisturbed.  Self-actualizers are taoistic, in their ability to leave things alone.”  - Maslow 

In an interview filmed in 1968, Dr. Everett Shostrom interviews Abraham Maslow about the “Self-Actualizer”.   On the quality of detachment, which is included with the need for privacy, Maslow compares two types of dog lovers.  The first dog lover is the type of person that would need a pedigree dog.  This dog lover would want the dog to conform to pedigree laws, which may mean cutting off its tail depending on the bread of dog it is.  The Self-Actualizer dog lover would not consider cutting the dogs tail.  It loves the dog exactly for what it is.  This sense of detachment can be summed up beautifully in this quote,

"We love the things we love, for what they are, not for what they ought to be, not for what they use to be, not for what someone else thinks they should be, but for what they are."  -R. L. Frost

The feeling of detachment in the Self-Actualizer is a feeling of a person who is able to allow things to just be and enjoy its essence for simply what it is.  This is what permits Self-Actualizers to maintain poise in the middle of madness, remain composed and serene.

Transcends Culture

The Self-Actualizer may be categorized into a culture, but do not belong to the culture.  They get pleasure from their autonomy and resist enculturation. They do not subscribe to social pressure to be feel they belong or fit-in.  They are free spirited and do not conform to social conventions. 

"Self-Actualizers fall well within the limits of apparent conventionality in choice of clothes, of language, of food, of ways of doing things within culture. And yet they are not really conventional, certainly not fashionable or smart or chic.  These people accept most states of affairs that they consider unimportant or unchangeable or not of primary concern to them as individuals".  -Maslow

They transcend culture because observe and live within the norms of society, but do not allow these laws to govern who they are and what they want to be or do.  They can be seen as rebels, but they are not.  They just are removed, standing apart from society.  If they witness injustice they will exhibit righteous anger.  Since most of the work of the Self-Actualizer is to help improve the state of the world,
 

“...what they settle for is accepting, calm, good-humored everyday effort to improve the culture, usually from within, rather than to reject it wholly and fight it from without.” - Maslow, 

Self-Sufficient

They autonomous nature of the Self-Actualizer makes them independent and permits them not to rely on others for praise.  They are motivated by the desire to expand, grow, and flourish in the world, and in order to do so these individual develop the skill of being self-sufficient.  

They do not seek extrinsic factors to inspire them to move toward growth; rather they are induced to do what they have to do by an intrinsic knowing. - Maslow  

This quality really distinguishes the Self-Actualizer from most of society, which depends on one another for praise, approval, acceptance and love. 

"This independence of environment means a relative stability in the face of hard knocks, blows, deprivations, frustrations, and the like. These people can maintain a relative serenity in the midst of circumstances that would drive other people to suicide; they have also been described as self- contained."  -Maslow

Autonomy is Freedom Within

Self-actualizers gain this sense of autonomy which frees them from society, allowing them to experience inner satisfaction, which bestows them with remarkable internal control.  They do not need nor require the opinion of others.  They have no desire for the adulation of people, because the driving force that propels them is the need for the wisdom that comes from a deeper and more meaningful place inside them and this is what sustains them on the path of life. 

Peace with Duality

Maslow called this area of self-actualization “resolution of dichotomies” because these people are able coexist with the polarities and have them work as if there were no conflict.

"The dichotomy between selfishness and unselfishness disappears altogether in Self-Actualizers because in principle every act is both selfish and unselfish. These people are simultaneously spiritual and pagan, sensual to the point where sexuality becomes a path to the spiritual.  Duty cannot be contrasted with pleasure or work with play when duty is pleasure, when work is play, and the person doing his duty and being virtuous is simultaneously seeking his pleasure and being happy.  If the most socially identified people are themselves also the most individualistic people, of what use is it to retain the polarity?"               - Maslow  

 These people are able to fuse differences and make peace with the duality that exists in the world, as if there is no conflict.

Distinctive Morals

This area is sometimes called and can be seen as the ability to discern between good and evil or discriminate between means and ends.  The average person dealing with daily life experiences is chaotic or at least has some degree of conflict.  The self-actualized person seldom exhibits this behavior.  

“These individuals are strongly ethical, they have definite moral standards, and they do right and do not do wrong.  Needless to say, their notions of right and wrong and of good and evil are often not the conventional ones.”   -Maslow 

Self-Actualizers are pious people, who can be described as being saintly. 

“Self-actualizing people most of the time behave as though, for them, means and ends are clearly distinguishable.”   -Maslow

 

They are fully present in the now and get pleasure from the moment.  Often they see that the experience of the journey (the means) could be just as or more valuable than the goal (the ends).  The means, is the process, and the process is were actual growth is happening.  The Self-Actualizer seek to growth and self-discovery, hence why  he/she places his/her attention on the process and are able to be present to take in the lessons being taught through the process.  This way of being makes life more pleasurable,  The means are where all dreams,  hopes, and desires live, and inspiration is alive.  The end, the results are just part of the whole process, the the means is where the aliveness of being human resides.

Realistic

The self-actualizer has a superior grasp with reality.  They innately have the quality of radical acceptance. 

"They live more in the real world of nature than in the man-made mass of concepts, abstractions, expectations, beliefs, and stereotypes that most people confuse with the world.  They are therefore far more apt to perceive what is there rather than their own wishes, hopes, fears, anxieties, their own theories and beliefs, or those of their cultural group." - Maslow

This way of being affords them to have a heighten abilities for interpreting and knowing what is genuine.  They are able to be more logical, well-organized, and resourceful in their dealings with the world around them.

This understanding on reality allows the self-actualized person to feel less vulnerable when dealing with the unknown and uncertainties.  As a matter of fact, they welcome what mystifies most people.  
This quote by explains this quality beautifully,

 

 However, this does not mean that the Self-Actualizer does not experience the discomfort of the unexplained, uncertain and unknown.  The way they handle uneasiness, 

“...which is for most a torture, can be for some self-actualizers a pleasantly stimulating challenge, a high spot in life rather than a low.” - Maslow   

Gemeinschaftsgefühl - Community Spirit

Gemeinschaftsgefuhl - German in English

"Community feeling" or "social interest," this term is used by Adlerian psychologists to describe the state of social connectedness and interest in the well-being of others that characterizes psychological health.

http://en.glosbe.com/en/en/gemeinschaftsgefuhl

Etymology

From Gemeinschaft (community) + Gefühl (feeling)

Pronunciation

 /ɡəˈmaɪ̯nʃaftsˌɡəˈfyːl/

Gemeinschaftsgefühl is a term created by Austrian psychiatrist, Alfred Adler to express,

“Social concern or feeling not in terms of particular social behaviors, but in the much broader sense of caring for family, for community, for society, for humanity, even for life. Social concern is a matter of being useful to others”.

Abraham Maslow saw this social consciousness in the self-actualizer.  The self-actualizer…

"…senses a fundamental connection with the human species whom they observe, not with arrogance, but with the awareness that he can do many things better, that they can see things that others cannot witness, that the truth is clearer to them and veiled from most people."  Maslow

This astuteness possessed by these people makes them feel a deep kinship with others and a consciousness of how things can be improved for everyone.  Gemeinschaftsgefühl is a type of empathy and wisdom comingled with social interest for the betterment of all.   

Acceptance

Most people tend to live life with superfluous amounts of guilt, shame, worry and anxieties.  These attributes in an unhealthy (neurotic) person causes them become fearful, phobic, irrational, obsessed, and disturbed.  The Self-Actualizers distinguish themselves from most people because they are able to accept themselves (their own nature) without vexation or criticism.  They accept their own nature in the same way that most people accept that…

"…water is wet, rocks are hard and trees are green.  As the child looks out upon the world with wide, uncritical, undemanding, innocent eyes, simply noting and observing what is the case, without either arguing or demanding it be otherwise, so does the self-actualizing person tend to look upon human nature in himself an in others."  - Maslow

 In other word, the self-actualizer has a real grasp on who they are and what they are observing. 

They are fully immersed in the “now” and this allows them to have a clear perspective on things.  They also are not attempting to hear or see what they want or prefer to hear and see.  They simply see things as they are in the present situation and based on this then they take action. Self-actualizers embody the attitude Eckhart Tolle talks about in The Power of Now. 

“Accept – then act. Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as you had chosen it.  Always work with it, not against it.  Make it your friend and ally, not your enemy.”  Eckhart Tolle 

 This allows Self-Actualizers to enjoy the miracles of life.  Still the Self-Actualizer is not free from feeling embarrassment, repentant, unhappiness and apprehension. 
The areas that a Self-Actualizer feels guilt and shame are in the ways they can improve themselves.  Losing their temper, being lazy, hurting someone’s feeling, being inconsiderate or insensitive, being envious, having a prejudice will cause the self-actualizer to feel guilt and shame.  However, they observe this as an area in their life where they need to improve and grow.  

“The general formula seems to be that self-actualizers will feel bad about discrepancies between what is and what might very well be or ought to be”.   Maslow.  

 The self-actualized person is a person who does not allow guilt to stultify his/her life.  They accept their limitation as part of their character and figure out a way to live life to the fullest. 

Maslow’s Characteristics of Self-Actualizers

In studying the self-actualizer Maslow saw that these people possessed specific qualities, all which create…

“…a pressure toward unity of personality, toward spontaneous expressiveness, toward full individuality and identity, toward seeing the truth rather than being blind, toward being creative, toward being good, and a lot else. That is, the human being is so constructed that he presses toward what most people would call good values, toward serenity, kindness, courage, honesty, love, unselfishness, and goodness" 

-Abraham Maslow

These qualities are acceptance, gemeinschaftsgefühl, have exceptional values called metaneeds, realistic, have peace with duality, are self-sufficient, transcends culture, enjoy a quality of detachment, authentic, altruistic, creative, gracious, mystical, are benevolent and more loving, democratic, and possess an unique sense of humor.

Criteria for Self-Actualization

The 4 Must to Self-Actualize:

1. No evidence of psychopathology

2. The 4 lower needs met

3. Embracing the B-Values (metaneeds)

4. Awareness of one's potential for growth

ABE-Making Peace with the Jonah Complex

A-B-E

ABE is the nickname for Abraham, a fitting the acronym to make peace with the "Jonah Complex".

  

A - awareness of how you judge the way other people enjoy their fabulousness. This step can help you become aware of how you judge your own potential to greatness.

B-Values - Metaneeds are the food for the Self-Actualizer's Soul.  The "Jonah Complex is at the total opposite of the psychopathology idea of Narcissism. Make these metaneeds a part of your life. These values will help you stay grounded and have healthy narcissism and develop self-compassion.

• Truth
• Goodness
• Beauty
• Wholeness, Unity, & Transcendence of Opposites
• Aliveness
• Uniqueness
• Perfection & Necessity 
• Completion
• Justice & Order
• Simplicity
• Richness
• Effortlessness
• Playfulness
• Self-Sufficiency
• Meaningfulness

E- embrace that the "Jonah Complex" is a part of you, do not resist it.  Embrace the positive aspects of what you are capable of achieving.  For example, if power scares you, but the people you can help with power is a positive aspect of what you like about power, focus on how you can use power for the greater good of helping people. 

What We Truly Fear

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”   - Marianne Williamson

This quote has often incorrectly credited to the 1994 Inauguration Speech of Nelson Mandela.  In 1992, Marianne Williamson published, A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of a Course in Miracles (Chapter 7, Section 3 (Pg. 190-191)).

This quote explains the Jonah Complex.  

How are you selling yourself short?  

How do you give away your power?  

Who truly benefits from you not Self-Actualizing? 

Is a lesser actualized YOU better for the world?  

You and only you are keeping yourself from your full potential, the question is why?  

Jonah Complex

Motives which may cause a person not become Self-Actualized are:

• Deprived Childhoods
•  Low Social Economic Class
• Inadequate Education
• Fears and Anxieties
• Jonah Complex – Fear of Success

What is to give light must endure burning.  

Viktor E. Frankl 

Jonah and the Whale

The Jonah Complex can be seen as false sense of modesty which suppresses our natural creativity or a  the fear of one’s own potential.  In the Bible, God tells Jonah to prophecies that "Nineveh shall be overthrown.” Jonah flees, getting on a ship going the opposite direction, to Tarshish. The ship finds itself in a horrible storm, and the sailors begin to question why this is happening. Jonah admits to the sailors that he was the reason they encountered the storm. The sailors cast off Jonah, the storm clams  and miraculously he is swallowed by a whale, where he spends 3 days and 3 nights. The whale spews out Jonah. He goes to Nineveh and this time does as God instructed.

"So often we run away from the responsibilities dictated (or rather suggested) by nature, by fate, even sometimes by accident, just as Jonah tried—in vain—to run away from his fate"              Abraham Maslow

Jonah was evading his responsibility of living up to an important mission, which elevated him to his greatness.  Maslow saw this complex in many people preventing them to Self-Actualize.

Why do people dodge or try to escape their own greatness:

• Fear of the responsibilities of greatness
• Fear of appearing arrogant and not accepted by others
• Unable to fully see oneself in a position of authority
• Fearing people will not accept you if you get what your heart desires
•  Fear of losing control, being overwhelmed and falling apart

Transitions

Transitions are major triggers to the Jonah Complex:

• Making a move
• A promotions with more responsibilities
• Going on an audition/interview for a dream gig/job
• Entering a new stage in the life cycle 
• Getting married or having a baby