Needs and happiness with Maslow's pyramid

Before moving to Denmark, when I was in Italy, I was focusing all my attention on the main actions to get material things and physical welfare: I was happy only when I was able to achieve my goals. The truth is that I was able to achieve my goals, but as soon as I got stuff done, after a short period of happiness, I had the same feeling when the tv series I am watching is over, and there are no more episodes to watch: looking for something to re-fill that feeling of nothingness.

So I reminded that Tommaso Grotto, once told me about his own version of the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and I decided to think about that, redrawing and thinking from scratch what happiness means to me. I am not a psychologist and just for fun, I created my own Maslow’s pyramid, based on the needs I can satisfy to be happy and on my life goals.

I created a new pyramid made by needs connected to specific life-goals and actions: At the bottom of it there are needs that I can satisfy easily, (like eating junk food) and on the top the needs that require a bigger effort (like found another company). I don’t want to share it here, because is really personal and I am sorry, but I hope you get the idea: I really suggest everybody to create their own Maslow’s pyramid.

To really use my “pyramid” I started comparing it with my every-day whims: by asking myself “where should I put this whim inside the pyramid?” I understand what priority and if that whim makes me really happy. If it fits or is connected to some of the pyramid levels, I will perform the actions to satisfy the need behind that whim. This helped me to distinguish things that really matter and things that doesn’t, like for example, my decision of not buying a new phone at the beginning of this year: there was something more important to do than spend some money for something that I don’t really need.

Even If I live in the happiest country in the world, I think that this is really personal and probably there is not a single way to see the Maslow’s pyramid. I am not a psychologist but I think everybody should build a pyramid… and listen to the happy song :P It helped me to clear my mind from stupid whims.