Environment: How Your Surroundings Affect Your Life

Creating a safe space for your physical and mental well-being is nearly impossible at your office job, the grocery store, and out in public in general.  But, you do have control over your home environment.  Creating a home environment that supports your health, both mental and physical is as easy as comparing your home environment to the different levels on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

From the Foundation Up

1. Physiological:  If these needs are not satisfied, the human body cannot function.  These biological requirements for survival are air, food, drink, shelter, clothing, warmth, sex, and sleep.  These are the fundamental needs of life and if are not met, all of the other needs cannot be met until these physiological ones are.
2. Safety:  The next set of needs to be addressed as we move up Maslow’s Hierarchy is safety needs. For example, emotional security, financial security, law and order, social stability, freedom from fear, health, well-being, and safety from accidents and injury.  The providers of services in your area that can fulfill these needs are the police and fire departments, hospitals, your family, and businesses specializing in health and wellness.
3. Belonging and Love: The third level of human needs is social.  Interpersonal relationships, being part of a group, acceptance, inclusion, and connectedness are all part of the feeling of belonging.  Friends, family, intimate partners, and social groups can all provide these social needs that provide love, affection, trust, and acceptance
4. Esteem:  Maslow separated the need category into two sections.  The lower need for esteem is the need for respect from others.  The outward signs of this respect might show up as fame, prestige, status, and attention.   It has more of a focus on your ego.  The “higher” version of esteem is the need for self-respect which may show up as confidence, mastery, freedom, and independence.  An everyday supportive environment provides opportunities to build both of these levels of esteem
5. Cognitive:  The extended version of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs includes the motivation for people to become educated… to have the will to learn and attain knowledge. Craving curiosity, meaning, information, and understanding of information comes after (and while) achieving self-esteem and esteem from others.
6. Aesthetic:  After reaching a level of cognitive success, you would then ascend to fulfilling your aesthetic needs. In other words, you would turn your interest into beautifying your life.   Beautifying yourself and your surroundings would be the last step towards reaching self-actualization.  (1) According to Maslow’s theories, “Humans must immerse themselves in nature’s splendor while paying close attention to and observing their surroundings to extract the world’s beauty. This results in an endearing sense of intimacy with nature and all that is endearing.
7. Self-Actualization:  Once all the previous steps have been achieved you then reach a higher level of existence and can focus on the highest needs which are finding the perfect partner, successful parenting, developing and using your talents, and pursuing goals that help the world to be a better place. 

In the WheelHouse approach, we learn to use our environment to help us climb the levels of Maslow’s Hierarchy.  Just like when a realtor assesses each level of your home from the foundation through the living areas up to the attic, we look for what is working and what needs to change in all areas of your environment to achieve your best lifestyle and in effect, your best Self!  Click here to book a call to talk about your environment and how you can assess your needs to become self-actualized in your home.