Life is what happens to you or what you make happen – it’s your choice. Granted, none of us has complete control over everything in our lives. That’s simply not possible. However, you can choose your path in life in more ways than you think.
I bet you’ve often heard people say things like:
If I could only lose 15 pounds, then everything would be wonderful.
If I could just find the perfect person to love, I’ll be happy.
If this or that or the wonderful other thing happens, I’ll live happily ever after.
There is no one magic event in life that will fix everything forever. Our culture, however, reinforces this concept in many ways, of which media are the most powerful. Consider an average hour-long TV drama. Major problems are presented for the characters and usually everything is neatly tied up and resolved by the end of the show. None of us truly believes our lives are like TV – even so-called reality TV. Life is much more complex than that. The world around us is changing all the time and we need to change with it. Much of what we now know about how people make the constant journey of personal growth can be credited to humanistic psychology.
Humanistic psychology was developed as a response to psychological approaches that were too concerned with neurotic and disturbed behavior (psychoanalytical) or with cause and effect explanations (behaviorism). It emphasizes motivation, self-development, self-knowledge, self-responsibility, and self-understanding, all positive and empowering aspects of human nature. Where psychoanalytic approaches concentrated on dysfunctional human behavior and behavioral approaches concentrated on the mechanics of stimulus and response, humanistic psychology focused on the need to fulfill one’s own potential and to move towards optimal development of the self. The five postulates of humanistic psychology set forth by James Bugental (1964) are:
1. Human beings cannot be reduced to components.
2. Human beings have in them a uniquely human context.
3. Human consciousness includes an awareness of oneself in the context of other people.
4. Human beings have choices and responsibilities.
5. Human beings are intentional, they seek meaning, value and creativity.
Critics of humanistic psychology's early years cite lack of empiricism, failure to adequately address social change, and the encouragement of self-centeredness and narcissism. While humanisitic psychology still does not contain testable theories, recent research has addressed a wide variety of social issues and topics and allegations of supporting selfish beliefs and behaviors result from misinterpretations of theory.
Four important people in humanistic psychology are Alfred Adler, Carl Jung, Carl Rogers, and Abraham Maslow.
Alfred Adler’s key focus was self-determination, the idea that we are active, creative, choice-makers whose actions have purpose and meaning. He believed we are the primary influence in the course our lives take. Adler believed all humans are motivated by a need to fulfill all of our potentials and to reach our ideals for ourselves. If we are thwarted in our efforts, we become discouraged, not psychologically ill. Therapists who follow Adler’s theories try to teach people more effective ways to achieve life tasks with an emphasis on the future rather than on deep examination of the past.
Carl Jung’s focus in humanistic psychology was awareness and acceptance of the full range of one’s being, both the good and the bad. He believed that it was natural for humans to grow toward a balanced level of development, and personality is composed of what we have been and what we hope to be. Jung’s emphasis on self-knowledge and self-honesty encouraged examination of both the bright and dark sides of the self.
Carl Rogers’ client-centered therapy emphasized the development of the fully functioning person. Rogers believed it is in human nature to do the very best we can in any given situation, to each make our existence the most positive it can possibly be. If we fail, it is not for lack of desire, but from distortions in our perception of reality. He believed these distortions come from societal and cultural influences. Humans become damaged when positive regard (approval) from others is based upon what we do (conditional) rather than who we are (unconditional). Rogers believed unconditional positive regard – the offering of nonjudgmental listening and acceptance for who we are rather than what we do – is an essential condition for people to move toward personal growth.
Abraham Maslow is widely considered to be the “father” of humanistic psychology. He engaged in extensive study of the concept of self-actualization, which is working toward fulfilling our potential, toward becoming all that we are capable of becoming. Maslow developed a hierarchy of needs, which states that more basic needs must be adequately met before higher needs become significant motivators. However, the more basic needs do not necessarily completely satisfied at every given moment. For example, we still attend class when we don’t have much in the refrigerator; that is, if we know our paycheck is due in a couple of days, otherwise, if we don’t have employment, the need for food might drive us to skip class and go find a job. Even when you generally feel that your safety needs are met, you will have some anxious moments in your life, such as when that car coming up behind you at the stoplight is going just a little too fast and you’re wondering just how good its brakes are.
It’s never too early or too late to examine your life and think about the choices you could make to improve your happiness, health, well-being, and sense of fulfillment. Life has so much to offer; we owe it to ourselves and our loved ones to have the fullest and most satisfying life we each can possibly have.
