According to Wikipedia ‘Expressing one’s creativity, quest for spiritual enlightenment, pursuit of knowledge, and the desire to give to and/or positively transform society are examples of self-actualization.’

You’re self-actualized when you have unlocked your potential, express yourself in a way you are satisfied with, when your values, talents and what you actually do are all in line.

Self-actualization is the top of Maslov’s famous pyramid of human needs.

You could say there’s one more level to this pyramid and that is: helping others self-actualize when you are self-actualized yourself.

Perhaps you could say it’s when people have found their Ikigai, a reason for getting out of bed in the morning, something you

  • Enjoy doing
  • Are good at
  • And society is willing to reward you for it

Self-actualisation is still more than that. Here are some ways to spot self- actualized people.

  1. Self-actualized people are not envious
  2. They will point out opportunities to you
  3. They are encouraging
  4. They are often in flow and get pleasantly lost in their work
  5. They shrug off all criticism that’s not constructive
  6. They contribute to something bigger than themselves, so they don’t take things all that personal
  7. They are very open to well- founded criticism, because they want to contribute more, they take full responsibilty for mistakes they make, because they know that taking full responsibility for all your actions, good or bad, is very empowering and lets people know you run the show of your own life. If you don’t take responsibility for your mistakes, you convey the message you’re not in control of your life (many people, including Hillary Clinton) don’t understand this
  8. They are compassionate, but they will not waste time trying to help people they know they cannot help. When they do help their interventions are effective. They do not help to boost their own ego or to cover up their own insecurities. Not everyone that that tries to help others has pure motives…
  9. They love company, but they are comfortable being alone, even for longer period of time, they do not constantly seek contact or attention
  10. They’re almost never bored, because every moment is an opportunity to learn more, discover more contribute more
  11. They know their own limitations and respect them
  12. They do not wilfully hurt others, they have learnt to be silent
  13. They never brag, they don’t try to impress you, they let their accomplishments speak for themselves
  14. They courageously choose to stand for something even though they know they might be wrong, they risk being wrong. They don’t see a mistake as a reflection of their worth as a person, they just see it as a learning opportunity.
  15. They are exceptionally good at prioritizing, they easily say no to things and when they do say yes, they commit themselves fully.