Give me something to live for. (Arabic Song Title)
Yesterday, I met a young, vibrant, extremely charismatic HR director at a huge conglomerate based in Dubai, who, frankly speaking, blew me away with what he had achieved over an extremely short career span.
After volunteering some “expert advise” on an engagement I am currently working on, he talked a bit about a job offer he was pondering. Since I promised utmost confidentiality I cannot really type the details here but lets just say it’s close to the one of the highest titles you can achieve in a lifetime career.
Gaping back at him I asked, “and?!” He said, “Nothing, I turned it down thrice before.” I said, “Why?!” He said something that I think will forever remain ingrained in me: “What do I live for after that?!” This opportunity meant he would be hitting the ceiling … and from his eyes I could see that scared him to death.
Ironically enough, right before this discussion, him and I were talking about Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. I wondered whether that opportunity for somebody who is so career-oriented would be reaching the state of “self-actualization.”
When I was first introduced to this term as a freshman, my professor said she was “very close to that stage.” She went on to explain her life from a waitress-turned-MBA-holder, to a professor and a mother. I still think about her and wonder if being “only close” is what keeps her wanting to live for a bit more.
Self-Actualization (redefined) (n): An imaginary state that we would all like to see from afar and yearn to be at. We are motivated and sane as long we are working towards it. Once we’re close to being there we search for another milestone to make ourselves feel alive. We would rather die getting there rather than die once we’re there…
Exit Music: “Ill see u… when you get there…see when you get there…if you ever get there…yea yea”
Self-Actualization (Actual Definition) (n): The most fulfilling state of being alive…Anywayz…Next.
posted by Amy at 2:29 PM
5 Comments:
amira - love the post, my favorite so far...:)
sameh, nice message that you wrote…
actually, it is ironic, before i resign from my ex agency (JWT), i was working on one final regional project for the agency's biggest brand. the brand proposition was something along the lines of {get more out of life) and since my job was to find an insight to tackle in the communication, making it more relevant to its audience, we found out from a quick dipstick research that Arabs always want more out of life, materially, socially...etc - it is in their blood to be greedy (not in a bad sense though), but in the sense of wanting to achieve more, reaching higher levels...always seeking something more...
so, this friend of yours ya amira is a unique one. his reply is great, I have to admit!...
it is funny how we strive to reach somewhere and then once we do, we start looking for something “more” that makes us alive again...that is why ya sameh, yout comment makes perfect sense - i strongly believe that "spiritual" self actualization is far more important as it leads to the self-actualization of all other aspects in life -it is achieving a more superior state, reaching satisfaction by simply relishing the small, but meaningful things in life….:)
Oh!
how much i like the post & the comments too!
first of all wanna thank u 4the post..it's tackling a very sensitive point we face in life nowadays..
well, it reminded me of a situation that happened may b 2 months ago, when i was having a chain of interviews for a post in a multinational company, and they kept me waiting between each interview, so my mind went soo very far, i had many thoughts, and suddenly i asked myself.."hmm..so?? what r we trying 2reach?? wht's all that effort 4?? lately, many times this idea pops in my mind, cos i believe we r all making sometimes such huge efforts for whtever we want in life, while we dont think sometimes that all this will vanish and will not stay 4ever, what is the most we can do? we have limits and we cannot override them, man has specific capability. i'd prefer that peaceful life, and say it is simple too, rather than running all the way through life without Living it right..indeed Man never get enough..
What a man can be, he must be. This need we call self-ACTUALIZATION. Abraham H. Maslow 1908-1970, American Psychologist
I took a lot of time to read and re-read this post and the comments - as honeybee said, it one of those subjects that you continue to think about, and wonder exactly what is it you need to say.
What Sameh, Hany and honeybey said - is all right. My question is - isnt seeking self-actualization the opposite of being content? I don't mean that we don't challenge ourselves to do better with our lives - but will you be content if you have to stay at one level if you did not achieve?
The problem with the world is, that there is a confusion beween self-actualization and greed - which isn't really the same thing.
menawayz... :P
Many people try to use God for their own self-actualization, but that is a reversal of nature and is doomed to failure. You were made for God, not vice versa, and life is about letting God use you for his purposes, not your using him for your own purpose. The Bible says, "Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life." Warren, Rick - The Purpose Driven Life
this is rickwayz :-) but I agree with him completly
DD, the arabic song is called "2edeena 7aga 2a3eshlaha" and it happens to be a tarneema in one of Better Life's tapes called '3any.' For additioal listening/entertainment purposes, please do not hesitate to contact Sameh for additional tape/cd copies :P.
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