Why We Need to Change for Success in The Future - Research Paper Example

Topic: Why We Need to Change for Success in The Future Part 1: Tell the Story Behind the Search In analyzing my personal situation as well as the political environment, I determined that the collective, binding factor between the two was a need for change and with that I saw a need for hope. In asking the question personally, I determined what I was hoping for was success in life, the ability to fulfill my personal goals. In defining a vision for myself of success, in personal relationships, job, career, family, and economic lifestyle, I could determine also a plan to achieve what I wanted. When analyzing the same question politically, I asked, how my idea of success impacts the party, the policy, the election process, and the need to do more in society. In both instances, I decided to refine my views through criticism and repeated questioning of the goals. In essence, I hoped that the critical process would mirror a type of personal evolution, and through implementing change on a personal level, I could be more able and knowledgeable about what was required to enact change in the greater society. Before this could be undertaken, I felt, it was required to refine the goal to a place where I could enact a plan with certainty. Thus, self-confidence or self-certainty would create a mental awareness that could assist in planning and its execution, but this also required empathy or a type of mutual understanding of relationships and situations as they would arise. The hope is that prior preparation and training create and reinforce mental patterns that strengthen the personal ability to relate and change to the environment while maintaining an inner cohesion. In this manner, I began to realize that I was seeking a process of self-actualization, and that I wanted to see the same process occur in society at large to reflect a greater change in life. I then began to research into self-actualization through the works of Abraham Maslow and other psychologists. Maslow defined self-actualization as “the full use and exploitation of talents, capabilities, potentialities, etc. Such people seem to be fulfilling themselves and to be doing the best that they are capable of doing…They are people who have developed or are developing to the full stature of which they capable.” (Maslow, 1954) In terms of what I was seeking in a process of change, I determined it was similar to what Maslow described in self-actualization. I hope to express myself to the full extent that I am capable in my art and music, and I want to live my life freely by nature. This does not involve irresponsibility or neglect for career and family. Those are also integral goals in my life plan. However, I do not want to stay a static and close-minded individual. I hope to grow, not only artistically, but also spiritually, mentally, and socially. Thus, I need to articulate personally, minimally in relation to my own understanding of self, what it is I desire to achieve in life. When I am unable to attain my goals, as in success as I define it on my own terms, then I need to be able to change methods and adapt to situations freely in order to create success. Therefore, in self-actualization, I see it as a pattern of achieving the goals that I define for myself and the process of change through which that becoming unfolds as natural growth of the individual. In interpreting this personally, I resolved to test it in the larger context of society as a theory of positive social change. Part 2: The Conversation For my conversation, I decided to test the topic in a number of different ways following upon the methods of self-actualization. Ideally, I wanted to establish a base of understanding with the person on what self-actualization is and the type of person it represents. Following upon these principles, I wanted to inquire as to how the individual would visualize those same principles being applied to society, and social change. For example, believing that we must do more to make our own communities and the world a better place, it seems easy. Yet, when one begins to volunteer or donate money to charities, for example, as a solution, one wonders if it is having effect. There is a question of how much of the individual life the person should give to society, and how much should be reserved for private activity, or career, art, entertainment, etc. Recognizing all of the options and opportunities a individual has in the society, I wanted to test the ability to develop a societal plan based upon self-actualization principles. This, in my opinion or hypothesis, would provide a rational basis for positive action that made effort more efficient in being an active agent of change. This method requires one first define what success means personally. For example, I am interested in music production and art. I work with a number of groups to fuse hip-hop, rock, jazz, and other free-style forms of music together into songs. In music, success can be measured in two different ways, related to quantity and quality. In the quantitative method of valuation, music is successful when it is popular. The more albums your single sells, the richer you get, and the more popular you become. Success and sales are related. Yet, every musician knows there is a groove that you get into as an artist, when you hit the zone or a type of trance, and then the artist is one with the music. I have seen this happen playing the guitar, but also while programming drums or mastering on the computer. In music then, when you become one with the instrument and you are using it for pure self-expression, it is a type of transcendent success. This can be related to quality over quantity in the two categories of valuation. I realized through this that I had different ways of valuing success not only in music, but in most things in life. For the purpose of the interview or conversation, I wanted to speak and discuss these issues with someone who would understand them, and also give some interesting feedback on what I was discussing. Unfortunately, I do not know too many people really actively interested in debating Maslow or self-actualization, so I decided to refine my views before hand in order to be able to communicate clearly without alienating the subject. Since I wanted to base my method on a scientific approach and logic, I researched more into Maslow and found an interesting article describing the characteristics he saw in successful people. “Drawing from their definitions of self-actualization as well as from their therapeutic experiences and observations, Maslow (1954) and Rogers (1961, 1977, 1980) defined certain unique characteristics of self-actualizing people. Such a person, they maintained, has the following: an accurate perception of reality, a high level of creativity, few defenses, a high level of integration, personal autonomy, unconventional ethics, a need for human kinship, compassion, humility, deep and harmonious interpersonal relationships, a respect for others, a desire to establish new forms of communications and intimacy, and an ongoing concern with personal growth.” “In addition, Maslow (1954) highlighted these characteristics: spontaneity, receptivity, a problem-centered approach to life, detachment, a fresh appreciation of things, a democratic attitude, a unique value system, a capacity to cope with circumstances, and a likelihood of having peak experiences. Rogers (1961) added, moreover, these qualities: an openness to nature and other people, an unconditional self-regard, an inner freedom, authenticity, a yearning for a spiritual life, an indifference to material comforts, a feeling of closeness to nature, and a skepticism of science and technology.” (Chang, 1991) Basically, I decided to study Maslow’s list of a self-actualized or self-realized person’s characteristics to come to an idea of the person it would be best to have my interview with personally. By this logic, the person that I saw as being self-actualized in the manner of Maslow’s description could also give me a greater feedback into the application of the methods of success into society. Through this it made sense to interview the person on the basis of their own personal success. I have a friend who is a graffiti artist, and who has been showing his paintings in galleries. He recently did some work for a popular band on their album cover. In the way Maslow defines spontaneity, freedom, and adaptability in creating new forms of communication, I had an association with the style of graffiti art and my friend’s work. Since I considered him a success personally and also socially respected and recognized for his work, I accepted the choice as appropriate for the scale of my argument. The project required some forethought to sculpt the way I would conduct the interview by introducing subtly the structures of rhetoric and logos, pathos, & ethos in the argumentation. Since I could not really control the way the person would view my character, I decided to structure my conversation around logic and appeals to common purpose and understanding. For the purpose of structuring the interview, I decided to base the questions on procuring opinions on each of the characteristics of a self-actualized person Maslow listed as important. From there, I intended to gather information for myself about how to become more successful in art and life. I then wanted to ask the person about those same characteristics in the context of the political situation, and listen to the answers. In the end, I wanted to ask the person directly if they believed themselves to be a self-realized or self-actualized person, and what that meant to them. Also, I planned to ask them how they saw change playing a role in becoming successful. Finally, I wanted to inquire about their opinions in using self-actualization methods to create political change. With those answers, I hoped to encourage my subject to also get involved in more activism and volunteer activity, putting his talents to use for services and causes. This would give me an opportunity to persuade. Thus, I also hoped to ask for a commission for our own band’s album cover from the artist, as well as to donate some work to a charity auction. Traveling to the artist’s studio, I had to pass through an iron gate and get buzzed in through the locked doors of the complex. The artist lived one floor below ground in a large room. The light from the street came in from small windows that were open on that top of the wall, and there was a clutter of paintings around the studio. The table and chairs I sat down in were semi-rustic and unvarnished. There was a half-eaten pizza and some bottles on the table. Also, an ashtray, some cigarettes, a lighter, and a newspaper rested on the tabletop. I was greeted the artist and thanked him for his time, making some small-talk about the requirements of the interview. He agreed, and offered me a coffee. The artist was wearing an Nike sweatshirt and baggy jeans, with white tennis shoes and a blue baseball hat. He had also a tattoo of graffiti wrapping in a sleeve pattern on both arms. I was satisfied this was a creative individual who was successfully representing their own vision in life through creative expression in a new and vibrant form of art, graffiti. Part 3: The Argument The following is a summary of the interview that I had with the artist To what degree would you say that ‘an accurate perception of reality’ is important to you and your art? The artist replied that accurate perception was not what he was about, he was after “distorted perception.” When I asked what he meant by that, he pointed at his art, the graffiti paintings in the studio, and said “this is what my art is all about, distorted perception.” Do you think distorted perception or an accurate perception of reality is important in politics? He said in this instance, an “accurate perception was required or preferred.” Distorted perception in his view would “lead to a distorted politics.” The public sphere should be “more clean, and more logical” than the private in his opinion. If an accurate perception is required in politics, why do you not cultivate it in your art, is your art not political? The artist replied that his art “was political, but political in the manner of opposition. If we want to oppose something, the government, or whatever for social change, then it makes sense to oppose it also in perception, in methods, in painting with the subjective point of view taken to the extreme.” Do you consider yourself to have ‘a high level of creativity’? What inspires that? The artist said he tried to maintain a high level of creativity but was not always successful. “Changing habits” was important to him in keeping fresh creatively. The artist also listed “people and music” as inspiration. Do you have ‘few defenses’ or are you highly guarded? Do you think it makes a difference which method a person takes? The artist said that “freedom depended on being unguarded.” He said, “we have to let our defenses down in order to be receptive.” How would you characterize your art as displaying ‘a high level of integration’? Is that important to you in life? According to the artist, his work was a combination of “the dynamic of chaos and structures, reformed by imagination.” In life, “the synthesis of knowledge is all important.” What does ‘personal autonomy’ mean to you? According to the artist “personal autonomy is related to personal freedom” and that was “all important” to the artist. The artist said his art was “all about freedom” but did not consider “autonomy to be a very good word to express freedom”. Do you have ‘unconventional ethics’? The artist replied that “unconventional ethics are the key to art.” Would you agree we all have ‘a need for human kinship’ and how does that relate to solitude? According to the artist, “human kinship is the basis of solidarity, and also love.” Do you practice compassion or are you aware of it in your daily life? The artist said that he had taken some Buddhist meditation courses and did believe in compassion, but “didn’t practice it actively or consciously” in his life. How do you view the importance of humility in one’s work and relationships? Humility is “a good way to approach any project,” according to the artist. Do you consider yourself to have ‘deep and harmonious interpersonal relationships’? How do you achieve them? Harmony “is an expression of love” according to the painter, and love in relationships is most important. “Love and work should also be one,” he said. How do you manifest ‘a respect for others’ in daily life? “Common decency, honesty, and kindness is the goal. Approaching everyone with respect,” was the answer given by the artist to this question. Do you have ‘a desire to establish new forms of communications and intimacy’? How would you go about doing that the next time? “My entire work is about establishing new vehicles of creation, new modes of communication, new symbols, and design,” he said. The artist said the public nature of graffiti art made it important in “changing the way people look at the world.” The artist also had a responsibility to society in his view. Discuss your ‘ongoing concern with personal growth’ - how is it manifested through your art? The artist said “personal growth is not my major concern, it tends to come naturally,” in response to this query. Nevertheless, the painter said “art is the essence of self-expression and communication, making new languages.” When asked how people can understand these new languages, he replied, “mind-to-mind, and heart-to-heart.” In taking what we have discussed as a definition of a ‘self-actualized individual” – do you see yourself as a self-realized person? Is this important to you? Do you see the factors we have discussed as aspects of self-actualization? The artist said that he “in no way felt that he was a self-actualized person”. He said he would like to become “more self-realized”. All in all, “self-realization is not something I think about,” was his summary to the question. In terms of the factors we were discussing, the artist claimed not to have been familiar with the principles of self-actualization or their characteristics before the interview. From this base of understanding what relation does change have in self-actualization, or self-growth? “Change is the dynamic that fuels growth,” he said. “Without change we don’t have anything. We don’t move, we don’t wake up without change.” The artist said he did many things in life to promote change, from brushing his teeth differently every day, to changing painting styles, changing clothes, and changing diet. He said he “did it consciously” to promote a better artistic method and result, and that is how he defined success. Do you think we can apply these same principles of self-actualization to political change? Are the same characteristics that we value in the self also valid in the community? The artist said he really “did not understand self-actualization well enough to apply it to politics,” but also that he “didn’t understand or follow politics too much.” In general, “art was the way” that he approached social change, and his painting allowed him to “change minds on a one-to-one basis.” I had planned at this stage to introduce a quote from Pierre Teilhard de Chardin as a means to focus the debate on the spiritual aspects of self-realization: “Pierre Teilhard de Chardin was among the first to give serious consideration to the future of human evolution. His work advocates both biotechnologies (e.g., genetic engineering) and intelligence technologies. He discusses the emergence of a global computation-communication system (and is said by some to have been the first to have envisioned the Internet). He advocates the development of a global society. Teilhard is almost surely the first to discuss the acceleration of technological progress to a Singularity in which human intelligence will become super-intelligence. He discusses the spread of human intelligence into the universe and its amplification into a cosmic intelligence.” (Steinhart, 2008) I read the quote to my friend and asked him what he thought about human evolution and the way technology and ideas can combine in the self-actualization the planet. He told me that he “liked generally what he had read of the Gaia hypothesis and indigenous traditions,” and that “it was important to strive to be international without being global in the sense of globalization.” I asked him what he meant and how we could avoid globalization. He replied that he was not against globalization but against the corrupt practices that “crushed people between gears of the machine.” I then asked him how that could be avoided, and he said “through art.” When I asked further what he meant by that, he began talking about John Lenon and Yoko Ono and their attempt to convert or educate people through art, music, performance, etc. “They are the ultimate example of the self-actualization you are talking about,” he said, and I agreed. When I asked him if people could really believe in that these days, if the hippie days weren’t past, he pointed to his art and said, “We have to make it all new again.” Bibliography: Association for Humanistic Psychology. Humanistic Psychology Overview. Association for Humanistic Psychology, 2001. Web. 17 Dec. 2010. Chang, Raylene. Characteristics of the self-actualized person: Visions From the East and West. Counseling & Values, Vol. 36 No. 1 Oct.1991. Web. 17 Dec. 2010. Hall, Michael. Self Actualizing. International Society of Neuro-Semantics, 2007. Web. 17 Dec. 2010. Harriman, Philip Lawrence. Twentieth century psychology: recent developments in psychology. Ayer Publishing, 1970. Web. 17 Dec. 2010. Heylighen, Francis. A cognitive-systemic reconstruction of maslow's theory of self-actualization. Behavioral Science - Volume 37, Issue 1, pages 39–58, January 1992, Web. 17 Dec. 2010. Hubbard, Barbara Marx. THE PLANETARY BIRTH Part II: OUR CRISIS IS A BIRTH, Web Thinking Allowed Productions, 2010. Web. 17 Dec. 2010. Maslow, Abraham. The Farther Reaches of Human Nature. ReinventingYourself, 1975. Web. 17 Dec. 2010. < http://books.google.co.in/books?hl=en&lr=&id=QbPVIsjlQ-EC> PMC. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Father of Modern Management & Leadership by Employee Motivation, Copyright© 2005-2009, Project Management Course - Mgmt. Web. 17 Dec. 2010. Read More