The hierarchy of fears?

Hi everyone, I thought of sharing something I have written, these are just some thoughts that I had on Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs theory. I hope you can share your opinion and maybe help me improve it!

The Hierarchy of Fears

Since I have learned about it, I happen to mostly agree with Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs. To me it sounded logical and true. In short, Maslow suggests that in order for a person to reach their highest potential (the top of the pyramid), where all the creativity and relief of prejudices exists, they first need to secure the basic needs of the pyramid. However, I also reckon that this theory falls short when, as Pastor Ariel mentioned, trying to explain the behavior of certain people who don’t seem to follow the pyramid, like mother Teresa or Gandhi.

The problem with the idea of the pyramid is that in order for someone to stay at the top, they need to have all the preceding steps secured. So there must be a continuity of the presence of all the needs such as respect, self-esteem, encouraging and loving friends, safety and security through materialistic possessions, and of course food and water.

What I would like to propose in an attempt to answer as to why some people don’t seem to follow the pyramid theory is the following:

All these needs spring out of basic fears. The most basic of these fears is to not have food and water. It is an animalistic type of fear that is engrossed in us. The second step of the fears is similar to the first (the need for security and health). It is too animalistic in nature. It is shared with animals which are more developed in their classification (Compare nesting animals, such as birds and mammals to reptiles and insects). At a higher level of insecurity comes the fear of loneliness. This seems as a -mostly- primate type of fear. Primates are highly social animals and as such, need to be around the same species to survive. This brings in us, humans, the need for friends and family.

The last type of fears is the one specific for us humans. We seem to worry much about this one and I think it hits us the hardest. It is the fear of being unimportant, insignificant. It springs out from our human emotions of the need to be recognized, loved and respected. We search for meaning and achievement in order to prove that we are deserving of the love and acceptance of others and the world. Not having meaning to our lives probably ranks high among the reasons for suicide.

The answer now becomes that if somehow we were able to rid ourselves of these fears, we would be able to stay at the top of the pyramid without the exaggerated constant supply to the basic needs. It seems likely that people such as Gandhi, were able to do just that. This has made them the special people they are without them having the obvious continual presence of the lower needs.
So what is the difference between the need and the fear of loss of that need, are they the same?

I don’t think so. It seems as if the fear is more basic than the need itself. Fear is what lurks behind in the dark alley of the need. For example, I cannot survive without food, hence the need for food, but I can survive without the fear of losing food.

So now it becomes apparent that when we lose the fear of the needs it won’t deprive us from the needs themselves. On the contrary, fear is what deprives us from the needs by not allowing us to realize how much we have.

So fear is what gives the need the sense of grandiosity we place on it. Since fear is more basic than the need, it is what drives us to acquire as much and as fast as we can of the need.

So, without the fear, the need is obsolete and since most of us have all of our needs met, there is no reason that we shouldn’t be on top of that pyramid all the time. This is to say that fear is what keeps us from reaching our utmost potential and not the lack of needs themselves. This probably explains all the nagging, whining, and complaining we do, we are frightened! (It is interesting to note that most of us don’t even recognize these fears, some people may recognize their insecurities but wouldn’t call them as fears)* I’m still not sure on this point!

So the question now comes, how do we rid ourselves of these fears? For me I don’t think that if we are to consciously fight our fears we would have a chance of winning the battle. It seems that we need to become of a different nature.

Matthew 6:31-34 NKJV

31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.