Just how Actualized are you?
If you are unfamiliar with the term, Self-Actualization is the idea of an individual reaching a level of lasting fulfillment in their lives by achievement of their own personal potential. Sounds great right? And, if it also sounds kinda impossible to attain you are on the right track. Abraham Maslow, the originator of the widely popularized Hierarchy of Needs, developed the concept of Self-actualization as the pinnacle of human potential. Maslow, and other foundational theorists in psychology, claimed that once basic needs are met that a human has an innate drive to “actualize” or move towards a fulfillment of their potential. If you want to move towards self-actualization it helps to have a means to measure how actualized you are. That's where modern era psychologist, professor and researcher Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman* steps to the plate. Kaufman has devoted his career to operationalizing how to assess where we fall in the spectrum of actualization and has developed assessments to identify areas of personality strength (think your individual potentials) and opportunities for growth. If we can measure behavior we can manage behavior, and by taking the assessments Kaufman and colleagues have developed are given a spark that can ignite and direct the engine of actualization. Careful not to judge harshly where you fall on the scales, they are intended as insight instigators not a measurement of your worth. I will provide a link to the two assessments on his website that provoked the most insight for me and that I have found helpful with clients. None of them take more than 8 minutes. I would be honored to go over your results and talk about creative solutions that move you up the ladder of actualization towards your best potential self.
-BONUS assessment if you want to find out if you are more on the Dark Side or the Light!
Light Triad Scale, may the Force be with you.
TM
* If you are a psychology geek, ”SBK” also has a great podcast that is for sure worth a spot in your rotation.