Abraham Maslow was a psychologist who was more interested in what works for people rather than classifying pathology. He has somewhat fallen out of favor in academic psychology for lots of reasons. I find him more of a philosopher who has insight into what drives people.

The major theory he is famous for is the hierarchy of needs. This lays out a hierarchy that must be satisfied to reach the final state of self-actualization. The major categories are 1) physiological needs such as food and shelter 2) human needs to belong and be valued by others 2) self actualization where you set your goals and actions for yourself.

This is a useful way of looking at why you are doing something at a critical point. For example, you may be pushing yourself to be part of an organization of people you want to work with but you find yourself missing critical deadlines or meetings.

You must ask yourself if there are more fundamental needs that deep inside you feel you aren’t meeting. This can be things like, “I’m not making enough money to pay the rent or next week’s taxes.” If this is weighing on your mind your unconscious may sabotage what you are attempting.

Goals may be defeated by the same kind of things. If you can’t satisfy the hierarchy of needs and you are attempting a goal at a higher level it is probably something that won’t work.

I challenge you to think about your goals in light of your needs. Try to align your goals with where you are in the hierarchy of needs. Help yourself to succeed by using this alignment.