A Theory of Human Motivation by Abraham H. Maslow
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is a short but rich work. I don’t think it was originally intended to be published as a book, as it has the strong feel of a published scientific paper. Don’t let this put you off however, as it is definitely readable and an easy to digest.
I originally came across Maslow’s Heirarchy of Needs as an image floating around the Internet. I highly agreed with it but didn’t give it any further thought or research. Coming across his work itself was fascinating.
Maslow puts forward a very convincing argument for his theory behind what motivates us and there is little fault I can find in his conclusion. This book opened my mind as to how our motivations are layered, which each new layer a new peak that must be both conquered and surpassed until we reach the ultimate heights of our fulfilment.
He adds questions that need to be answered which is humble of him and only serves to show that despite his groundbreaking theory, he was humble enough to know that it wasn’t the full answer to how humans are motivated. There are questions still to be answered and I definitely feel like I have areas still to research and delve into should I reach back into this topic again.
I’d recommend this book to get the foundational understanding of how we humans operate. Sure there may be more to it, but in my opinion Maslow has put forward an excellent theory that I believe describes a lot of what I can empathise with and understand.
Vital reading for anyone wishing to understand themselves better.