The Upside Down Pyramid

I think Maslow got it backwards. Here's why...

You’ve probably heard of Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. The idea is simple. It’s a pyramid of basic human needs. The foundation of the pyramid is made up of physical needs. The middle part of the pyramid consists of psychological and emotional needs. The top of the pyramid represents deep, personal fulfillment in a task or role- what Maslow called self-actualization, transcendence, or what I prefer to refer to simply as purpose. Most people consider Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to be an obvious, factual description of reality. We learn about it in grade school health class and hear it referenced across many different domains of life. It’s hard to argue against a concept with that kind of popularity. But I think Maslow got it backward.

The exception to what I’m about to share is cases of abuse or neglect. With that caveat stated, I think Maslow’s pyramid creates a far more satisfying life schematic when the base of the pyramid is one’s sense of purpose. That sense of transcendence beyond the self that forms the pinnacle of Maslow’s pyramid should in fact be the foundation. And this doesn’t have to be of a grandiose flavor as though imagining your portrait hanging in a line next to Einstein, Ghandi, and Mother Teresa. Purpose can, and should be, something simple. The key is that purpose connects you to something bigger than yourself. Examples of this sort of transcendence includes family and community, ethnicity or nationality, religious or spiritual beliefs, or even just a small set of committed relationships. Re-imagining self-actualization or transcendence beyond the self as the base rather than the pinnacle challenges what we consider to be someone’s greatest accomplishments. I would argue that one’s greatest achievement is not the contributions they make to a field of study, to a religious or political ideology, or to a company. The fulfillment of one’s greatest potential is something that nobody would receive a Nobel Prize for. It’s being grounded in a network of human connections where you’re constantly reminded that you are part of something grander than yourself. This is not the pinnacle of the psychological needs. It’s the foundation.

In terms of what makes up the middle ground of the pyramid, I agree with Maslow- safety, security, love and belonging, self-esteem. These are the psychological and emotional needs that give us a deep sense of peace, and again, the emphasis is on social connections but with less of a tone of existential nakedness as in the base. In the main body of the pyramid, there is no need to be a martyr. It’s ok to let people know what you do and don’t like, what your personal preferences are in terms of communication style and the unique social rhythms that feel most satisfying to you. It’s in the body of the pyramid where people tend to classify themselves as introverts, extraverts, or more preferably some blend of the two. This is where we take risks, evaluate outcomes, and formulate strategies for how to go about navigating the minutia of daily life. Where the base of the pyramid pertains to purpose, this portion of the pyramid pertains to peace.

The pinnacle of my pyramid is made up of the same material stuff as Maslow’s foundation. It’s physical and material goods. Again, unless we’re dealing with instances of abuse or neglect, severe poverty, or some other type of non-normative experience, material life is the pinnacle. I want to be clear that I am aware of inequity and injustice, and those cases, because they are so numerous, deserve a different conceptualization. For those outside such conditions, I typically think it best to look at material goods as the capstone of the pyramid. So, if the foundation is purpose, and the middle section is peace, the top portion is pleasure.

And that’s the order of the upside down pyramid. Purpose. Peace. Pleasure. In that order.

If reversing the order of Maslow’s pyramid feels too unorthodox or even insulting, consider the example of Jewish psychiatrist and holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl. Frankl was practicing an existential approach to psychiatry before the start of World War II. When he entered Nazi concentration camps, his philosophy was put to the test. His philosophy on life, suffering, and therapy that emerged from the horrors of the war is that self-actualization, the attainment of one’s highest meaning and the fulfillment of one’s life purpose can occur in the harshest environments and in extreme absence of almost all physical and psychological provisions. In his autobiographical account of the horrors of life in the death camps, he states multiple times that it was a quote from Nietzsche that got him through some of the worst moments and solidified his outlook: “Whoever has a why can withstand almost any how.” In other words, material conditions are secondary to matters of purpose. If you’ve never read Frankl’s most popular book Man’s Search for Meaning, I recommend doing so.  

So in the spirit of Nietzsche, Frankl, and other existential thinkers, I’m a proponent of inverting Maslow’s pyramid. Not surprisingly, most of my clients report that the upside down triangle describes their own mental health journey with far greater accuracy.

Here’s how the implications often play out.

When the existential version of the hierarchy of needs gets out of order, pleasure can become meaningless if not supported by solid foundations of meaning below it. We may have a nice home, a new car, and great food, but if more important issues of belonging, safety, and human connection are absent, we quickly become disenchanted by our material surroundings. It’s like eating a beautiful gourmet meal with no one to share the experience with then taking a deep sigh and saying to ourselves, so what. Psychologists refer to this phenomenon as anhedonia. The absence of or inability to experience healthy hedonic pleasure. I teach my clients that the ability to experience pleasure is just that – an ability, a skill that must be practiced and built on a solid foundation of support. And when those foundational needs of purpose and belonging are firmly established, even the simplest of pleasures become the finishing touches on a deep sense of satisfaction with life. But this is a mindset that must be practiced and developed through consistent and intentional self-care and creating slow moments around those areas of life that are most meaningful and valuable to you.

Finding life satisfaction gets tricky with a reverse order of priorities. Maslow’s hierarchy of pleasure-first followed by peace then purpose is in essence trying to balance a pyramid on the pointy tip. When we approach life with this mental framework things tend to feel inherently unstable. The meaning we attribute to almost every aspect of daily life becomes skewed. The pyramid we have been trained to take for granted keeps falling over on its side, and the all-important issues of purpose and meaning are at risk of draining away. If that pattern sounds familiar, then maybe it’s time for a new approach to old problems.

Try turning the whole thing upside down and see what happens.

-Austin