Human Potential Philosophy

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Maslow’s hierarchy defines the stages of a person’s psychological needs. The foundation level is food, water and shelter, the basics of survival. When these needs are met, an individual looks to meet their need for physical and psychological safety. This leads to next level of belonging, as an individual creates their place in a group. Having successes and overcoming challenges creates a feeling of self-esteem, that motivates the individual to have more successes. With this feeling of empowerment, an individual commits to learning and appreciating the world around them, particularly the natural world, meeting their cognitive and aesthetic needs. As the individual learns how their unique talents allow them to contribute to something bigger than self, they reach the levels of self-actualization and then transcendence, living their full potential.

The Consciousness Chart

David Hawkin’s describes the Consciousness Chart as a spectrum from least conscious to most conscious, describing all levels of human emotions. In the lower levels of the Consciousness Chart, emotions such as shame, fear, anger and pride are defined as a victim / abuser mentality. Here, people either use others to get what they want, or feel like they are a victim of other people or circumstances. The majority of people live here. In the middle levels of the Consciousness Chart, emotions such as courage, willingness and acceptance are characterized as self-empowerment. About 20% of the world’s population lives here. The highest levels of the chart, including love, joy, peace and enlightenment, are defined as self-realization and spiritual, only 4% of the population live here. Achieving full human potential is to work on becoming more conscious and aware of ourselves and our actions, using the Consciousness Chart as a tool to reflect on our progress or our current mindset.

The Hero’s Journey

Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey is a framework of 12 steps that can apply to any story, and to anyone’s personal mental and physical journey, helping people to understand their own cycles of change and development. Carl Jung used Joseph Campbell’s external Hero’s Journey as a metaphor for the internal journey as a person learns to integrate their conscious and unconscious psyche to become a whole, authentic self. Life events trigger an individual to make a change, yet the ego resists. The mentor stage is through an individual projecting needs onto real people, or through their own internal thought processes. The individual enters the “special world” of their unconscious, facing inner challenges with their shadow self. Eventually, they overcome their biggest fear and feel a sense of wholeness and integration within themselves. They can now return to their ordinary world with new mindsets, ready to face the next challenge.

Carl Jung’s Model of the Psyche

Carl Jung defined the outer world as external, material reality, as perceived through our senses, yet filtered by our psyche, creating a subjective impression. The inner world is the subjective internal world of thoughts, emotions and the unconscious parts of a person. The conscious is aware of thoughts and feelings, governed by the ego (identity, decision-making and organization), it mediates between the inner and outer worlds. A person adopts personas such as job titles that are like a mask to present to the world, but over-identification with a persona represses authentic traits. The shadow (unconscious repressed parts of the personality) and anima / animus (feminine or masculine aspects) are part of the unconscious. Jung defines the self as the integrated conscious and unconscious.

Psychological Types and the Sixteen Personalities

Carl Jung originally proposed eight psychological types and the importance of a person knowing their psychological type to realize their full human potential. Knowing their psychological type helps a person become aware of and develop their strengths. It also helps a person become aware of their weaknesses, allowing them to develop themselves in these areas on their journey to wholeness. Understanding a variety of psychological types helps people relate better to others as they can recognize the different needs and perspectives of others. Through knowing themselves better, people can make more informed decisions and pursue authentic self-actualization. This psychological types theory has since been expanded to encompass sixteen different personality types.

Jung’s Shadow Self Concept

Carl Jung describes the hidden, unconscious parts of a person’s personality as the “shadow self”. These unconscious parts are perceived by the individual (and often society) as negative and undesirable but are not necessarily such. For example, someone who has been taught to be logical and scientific might deny and repress their creative side. If someone dislikes something in other people, this is often a projection of their own shadow self onto others. When a person is unaware of their shadow, it will unconsciously shape a person’s behaviours, causing them to display out of character behaviours, which they feel powerless to control. Becoming aware of the shadow and consciously integrating it into a person’s life is the first step in the process of becoming whole.

Jung’s Anima and Animus Concept

Carl Jung defines the anima and animus as the unconscious feminine side in men (anima) and the unconscious masculine side in women (animus). They aren’t reflections of external people, but are symbolic, universal patterns that shape how individuals relate to themselves and to the opposite sex.

The anima is associated with emotion, intuition, receptivity and creativity and a man may unconsciously project this onto women in his life. The animus is associated with rationality, assertiveness, strength and action and a woman may unconsciously project this onto men in her life. This projection can cause conflict, or act as a conduit for growth, depending on if a person recognizes this as a projection or not.

Jung believed the psyche has both masculine and feminine energy. While the conscious persona aligns with a person’s sex, the unconscious mind incorporates elements of the opposite sex’s energy, forming a bridge between conscious and unconscious. This helps a person on the journey to becoming whole, accessing deeper wisdom, creativity and balance.

Intentional Work

Intentional work is a vastly different concept to society’s standard perception of work. An organization that practices intentional work seeks to empower its employees, facilitating opportunities for them to have greater responsibility and freedom than a standard work place. An employee who applies intentional work is clear on their interests, goals and purpose, both for their life and for their work. Their interests, goals and purpose align with that of the organization. This creates a synergy where the organization benefits from having motivated employees and the employees benefit through contributing to something meaningful and enjoying opportunities not found in a standard work environment. The intentional work concept is how people can reach and express their full potential.

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