Freedom and choice, self-actualization - Essay Example

? Freedom and choice is a mandatory aspect for the self actualization process in a human being. In order to realize one self and bring out the ultimate potentialities in oneself, it is essential to possess freedom and choice by an individual. Self actualization is an ongoing process and continual freedom is essential for self growth and progress. However, freedom and choice can lead to self destruction if not used in proper manner. The right combination of freedom and choice is essential for the successful actualization of self. However, only freedom cannot lead to self actualization as knowledge also needs to be applied with the same. On the other hand, if there is no freedom and choice in a person’s life then his self actualization is impossible. Finally it can be said that freedom and choice makes actualization process an easy task. Topic:  Freedom and choice, self-actualization Introduction Freedom is an essential quality of the human being, as operative on two levels. The human being has a freedom and choice to follow what is right for him .If we carefully observe our life, it becomes clear that every point in life, we are making choice. Freedom and choice and self actualization are a relative concept. In order to have self realization, one must manifest his freedom to others and thereby become real in the world. In the world, freedom is not given, nor is it merely reflective; it must be concretely risked and won in struggle for recognition, and in relation to others. As the foundation of our being we recognize only freedom. Only freedom remains constant as our fundamental characteristics. Self actualization is an ongoing process and only with freedom and right to choose this process can grow. At its most elementary level, freedom is manifested in some degree of self consciousness, that is, reflective consciousness where freedom is the bending back of consciousness on itself. In the real sense, it is the freedom that gives a man the right of choice. Both knowing self – awareness and self – actualization are expression of freedom. The process of self actualization is most likely to occur when the individual is completely free and open to his or her emotions. Freedom of the self to act aims at the actualization of human essence in individual existence. If we think of life as a series of choice, then self actualization is a process of making every decision a choice for growth. Freedom and choice is essential for self actualization The term self actualization has many meanings. According to Maslow, self actualization is the human desire for self – fulfillment .It involves the actualization of people’s potential. Self actualization concerns with actualizing one’s capabilities, actualizing one’s possibilities or living according to one’s nature. Self actualization does not entail doing one’s job as competently as possible- that is merely a matter of technical perfection. Human self actualization concerns wisdom, reflection on the absolute reality. We can arrive at self actualization if number of needs is fulfilled such as physiological need, security and social needs. Given that self – actualization also entails that realization of one’s capabilities; it also means that one should be prepared to devote oneself to becoming what one is. Self actualization creates a possibility for a meaningful life. Self actualization means experiencing fully, vividly, selflessly, with full concentration and total absorption. Self actualization is utilizing one’s freedom and choice to do well the things one wants to do. It is a motivational process by which the actualization tendency is expressed. The process of self actualization is facilitated by openness to emotional experiences and characterized by being ongoing in nature, expressed in a unique way by each person. By self – actualization an individual is motivated in the direction of personal growth and self enhancement. Only by acquiring freedom and choice can one person strive to promote self actualization. Freedom and choice can cause self destruction Freedom and choice is significant for the self – actualization of a preson. But it can also lead to self destruction of a person if not utilized in the appropriate manner. A person should use his freedom with intelligence and responsibility. While acting in freedom he should not forget his morality or ethical standards. One should be cautious so as to avoid misuse of freedom and right to choose. Freedom can make most people confused and lead them to take decision which is wrong and harmful to them. Freedom can sometimes lead to high risk taking and can give negative consequences to a person’s life. Freedom and choice should always be utilized in such a way that benefits our personality and self growth. Moreover freedom and choice should only be given to individuals who are mature enough to handle it. If children and teenagers are given freedom as a process of self actualization, then they can use it in a bad manner. Self destruction is the fatal feature of freedom and can mislead people in many situations in various ways. Freedom can influence people to sin and evil actions which can have a negative impact on self growth and self actualization. Man is naturally inclined to passions and has a tendency to seek pleasure and sin instead of goodness and morality. If one is not determined, strong willed and courageous then he can fall into the trap of freedom and invite his self destruction. As per(Birdyaev,2000) “ The primal freedom, in its own regard, is powerless to preserve and affirm freedom, it is always subject to the threat of destruction”. Right combination of freedom and choice leads to self actualization Only be attaining freedom and right to choose one cannot achieve self actualizarion.One must use freedom and choice in the right way to be self actualized. The freedom of self needs to be integrated with the freedom to choose in order to actualize the self. One is not freer the more alternatives one has. It is more likely that the self feels less free when there are too many alternatives all of them inessentials or external to the essential aspirations on self. This does not mean that we should renounce freedom but we should integrate it to a wider concept of freedom or freedom of the actualization of the essential self. Freedom accelerates one to grow to his ultimate limit and hence make him realize his true potential and abilities leading to self actualization. Actualization of individual essence or of the essential self has to be aided, but not substituted, freedom and choice it being a necessary but not sufficient condition for freedom of the self. Freedom of the self aims at the actualization of human essence in the individual existence. Freedom is an act of self – determination and self – actualization by making a choice among finite objects. Self – actualization is our inherent tendency to reach our true potentials. Freedom allows us to choose what we want in life and what to be in life. Self actualization is the process of becoming more of oneself and this can be done only if he can choose what he wants. Nowadays people have much freedom to choose what they want. Freedom only is not end to self actualization Even though freedom is crucial for self actualization, it alone cannot lead to this process. To actualize self, one also needs right to exercise his choices .Self -actualization is the full use and exploitation of talents, capacities and potentialities. It is not static state. It is an ongoing process in which one’s capacities are fully, creatively, and joyfully used. It is a process of making every decision a choice for growth. Merely acquiring freedom does not guarantee that a person can achieve self – actualization. Each choice has its negative and positive aspects. Freedom means the right to choose between right and wrong. Freedom is an important component of self – fulfillment as against self – actualization. If a person has ultimate freedom but no ability to choose what is good for him then this freedom is of no use. In the process of self – actualization, individual needs to take various choices at each step. If the individual makes progressive choices, he gets more close to self – actualization. Life is process which is built on choices as it allows us to move forward in life. The freedom is only beneficial if the choices made are productive. In self actualization phenomena, one need to face different challenging environment and one does not have the right or ability to choose then it is difficult to attain his objective. A person having complete freedom who mostly makes all wrong choices in life can never achieve self – actualization. According to ( Coon,2010,pg 338) “The need for self actualization is not based on self deficiencies .Rather , it is a positive, life enhancing force for personal growth”. The choices made in life later show it results and it can be positive or negative. Freedom and choice less life hinders self actualization A human being can actualize his potentials only by means of freedom and choice. Freedom is the universal essence of human nature and without which he get restricted and choice less. Without freedom, we cannot act experimentally to ascertain the truth or any true proper course or action to take toward achieving a successful conclusion. In his book(Weaver,2002,pg 119) writes that “ Freedom is the capacity to actualize oneself within one’s material specificity” A more broadly defined and integrated freedom is relating to self – existence is required to establish the rationality and authoritativeness of anything prescribed for the self. Self – actualization - the creation of the self by the self – requires the exercise of all the freedom one have and the right to choose in order to get the best out of oneself. The liberty of self – actualization, not life, has become the most important right of an individual. Self actualization is the clear result of the freedom and choice one exercise and shows the courage to takes one’s own decision and to commit acts based on open – ended belief system by oneself. Many people on planet does not possess freedom as they suffer from disease, poverty, famine and exploitation .Such people are only able to think about their bare survival and nothing beyond that. Without satisfying one’s physiological needs, one cannot pursue higher goals in life. An individual has to face different challenging situation in his life time and if one does not possess the freedom to act and choose then he is not able to progress in life. Freedom and choice are two things given to us by the Creator who. We as human beings has the ultimate freedom to do what we want and to choose what we think right or wrong. As per (Corey,“The freedom entails a sense of detachment and need a privacy, creativity, and spontaneity and an ability to accept responsibility for choices”. Freedom is not a quality like other qualities and every man himself is freedom. It can be said here that freedom can be seen as a process of personal actualization. The real freedom is the freedom to choose. Freedom and choice helps us to achieve what we want in life. Without freedom and choice a person gets restricted and cannot grow. Freedom allows people to choose from different opportunities provided by life and to take the best for himself. A person’s degree of overall freedom is a function of the degree to which their possible actions are unconstrained both externally and internally. The ability or the right to choose is another form of freedom. The freedoms give an individual the chance to choose between various alternatives. Using our own judgment we can choose right to wrong and feel its consequences. We have the complete freedom to choose our course of action and make the best out of it. We are placed in this world with a right to exercise freedom and choice. We have the freedom to take responsibility for our own life and with this we are given the freedom of choice within the universal boundaries. Even to practice one’s freedom or not is a choice made by him. Conclusion The freedom and choice are very important aspect necessary for the achievement of self actualization. Freedom here is not really the ability to do as you please, but absolute self activity or being with yourself. In modern society, the demand for liberation and freedom occupies a very important place. Freedom and choice is the ultimate want of a human being and it gives him happiness and happy life is the life of human self actualization. . “Maslow saw the self-actualized person as “different” from the norm. According to (Francis,2006,pg 1 – 7)He referred to them as “healthy individuals”, but not perfect” Freedom is the ineluctable substratum of the human condition. If one does not of freedom of thought or action then self actualization is an impossible process. Moreover freedom of thought is essential for the actualization of self, infect it is the first step of self actualization. It is the ability to allow you to question reality, question the “truth”. Freedom of thought openly recognize that you are entitled to your own thoughts even if they are different from the “norm” .With the freedom of thought comes the freedom to trust oneself. Self reflection is essential for self actualization. Acting upon things is essential in self – actualization and freedom gives the individual the scope for action and makes possible his extending and expanding his personality. Freedom and choice is the healthy process to growth and freedom gives the possibility for self actualization by giving him right to do what he wants at a given time. In order to achieve self actualization maximum degree of freedom is mandatory. Freedom and choice is essentially is a physical reality and a key ingredient in successful achievement of self – actualization. Bibliography Birdyaev, N. A. (2000). THE METAPHYSICAL PROBLEM OF FREEDOM . In Birdyaev. Retrieved November 9, 2011, from http://www.berdyaev.com/berdiaev/berd_lib/1928_329.html Coon, D. (2010). Introduction to psychology: Gateway to mind and behavior (12thth ed., p. 338). Belmont: Cengage Learning. Corey, G. (2010). I never knew I had a choice : Exploration in Personal Growth (9thth ed., p. 23). Belmont: Cengage Learning. Francis, N. H. (2006). A Brief Analysis of Abraham Maslow’s Original Writing of Self-Actualizing People: A Study of Psychological Health. NATIONAL JOURNAL OF PUBLISHING AND MENTORING DOCTORAL STUDENT RESEARCH, 3(1), 1-7. Weaver, D. F. (2002). Self love and Christitan ethics (p. 119). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Read More