Self-Actualization

Self-Actualization Below The Surface

By Michael Schreiner | March 30, 2015

To the casual observer, when a seed germinates nothing has changed, the topsoil looks just the same as it did a moment before. But of course everything has changed, the process of growth is now in motion and with a little time and a little luck the plant will poke its head up through the soil before long.

Human self-actualization is the same way. It usually starts out with a decision, with a new orientation towards some object or goal. It can’t be seen or touched by observers but this doesn’t mean it’s not real, and just like the germinated seed, with the right conditions and a little luck there will be visible manifestations before long.

The point of this analogy is that just because others don’t believe your self-actualization there, just because they’re incapable of seeing it, doesn’t mean that you should follow suit. If you feel a seed of self-actualization has germinated within you do yourself the favor of protecting it, give it the chance to grow within you instead of letting it die. You might not yet know what kind of plant it is but if you cultivate it you’ll be giving yourself the chance to find out.

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