Guest Contributor: Shahnawaz Soomro
At some time in our lives, the majority of us have come across Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, perhaps at a management training session, in a psychology textbook, or on a motivational poster on someone’s office wall. It is a tidy, reassuring pyramid. The most fundamental physiological needs, food, drink, shelter, and sleep, are at the bottom. Safety, financial stability, health, and personal security rank higher. Next is love and belonging: community, family, and friendship. Esteem follows, including respect, acknowledgment, and a feeling of achievement. And finally, perched at the very summit of this thoughtfully formed triangle, sits self-actualization, the attainment of one’s full potential, creativity, and purpose.
The pyramid’s message is simple and reassuring: you can only be your best self after you meet your basic needs, build a stable and safe life, find love and a sense of belonging, and earn respect.
It sounds reasonable. Almost apparent. But here is what bothers me. I see a very different picture when I examine the individuals we consider genuinely successful, well-known, or even holy. Many of them didn’t wait for security or a sense of community. Comfort and social acceptance were not relevant to them. Instead, they pursued meaning first and willingly compromised everything else along the way.
I now think Maslow got things wrong. Self-actualization is not a prize at the top of the pyramid for the most motivated people among us, the entrepreneurs, artists, activists, and nurses. It is the engine that burns through every layer below it.
The Comfort Trap: What Maslow Missed
But here is an even deeper truth that Maslow completely missed. It is not just that successful people sacrifice their lower needs. It is that unmet lower needs often become the very fuel for self-actualization.
Think about it:
The hungriest person works the hardest.
The person with no safety net takes the greatest risks.
The person who does not belong anywhere builds something new to belong to.
The person with no respect from others fights twice as hard to earn it.
Their absence becomes their ladder.
Now look at the opposite. The person with a full stomach, a secure job, a loving family, and the respect of their community, what do they need to strive for? Nothing. They have already arrived. Comfort becomes a cage. Belonging becomes a blanket that smothers ambition. Esteem becomes a reason to stop growing. They withdraw. They break. They never reach self-actualization, because they never need to. Maslow assumed scarcity is an obstacle. I believe scarcity is often the engine.
The Surprising Truth About the Pyramid
Let me start with a startling fact that most people do not know: Maslow himself never actually drew the pyramid. Others invented the famous triangle that has become synonymous with his name after his death. Lately, humanistic psychologists have shown that this visual reduction distorted Maslow’s more complex and adaptable theories of human motivation (Jogdand & Magar, 2025).
Fortunately, more recent research is finally making progress. A 2025 study specifically suggests an inverted Maslow hierarchy, in which self-actualization is “the structural initiator of stability, survival, and relational coherence,” not the outcome of lower needs being met (Bostick, 2025, p. 4).
This inverted pyramid connects directly to nursing theories already honored on Nursology.net. Jean Watson’s Theory of Human Caring similarly places caring, not comfort, at the center of nursing practice. Watson recognized that nurses prioritize caring for others over their own needs. Caring is the primary drive, the engine, the calling. Maslow assumed a ladder. Nursology recognizes a calling.
What Religious Traditions Teach Us
Now think about global religious and spiritual traditions. Buddhist monks voluntarily forgo emotional connections, safety, and material comfort through vows of poverty and celibacy. Christian ascetics have historically eschewed worldly recognition, lived in seclusion, and fasted for extended periods. Sufi mystics in the Islamic tradition intentionally endure suffering to purify their souls and remain vigilant in prayer throughout the night. Hindu sadhus give up their families, belongings, and social standing in pursuit of spiritual freedom.
None of these people waited for their basic needs to be satisfied. They chose to compromise those needs because they were already working toward self-actualization or spiritual realization, as they call it. Their emptiness became their fullness. Their hunger became their prayer. These lives cannot be explained by Maslow’s original pyramid. An inverted pyramid can.
What This Means for Nursing
As a nursing graduate from Aga Khan University, I see this inversion of Maslow every day. Nurses work twelve-hour shifts without breaks. They skip meals. They miss their children’s birthdays. They risk back injuries, needle sticks, and burnout. By Maslow’s logic, they should be incapable of self-actualization. And yet they are the ones holding patients’ hands at 3 AM, catching medication errors before they happen, and going home to study for certifications. Their lower needs are not met. But their calling is. Nurses do not succeed despite their lack. They succeed because of their lack. Their exhaustion gives them purpose. Their sacrifice gives them meaning.
A Call to Rethink Comfort
Our culture consistently sends a reassuring but constrictive message to young people, especially those with aspirations: “Get stable first. Build a secure foundation. Then pursue your passion.” That advice is safe. It makes sense. But it is not the only path. And for some people, it may not even be the best path. In fact, following that safe advice may be the very thing that kills their greatness. Comfort is not always a blessing. Sometimes comfort is a curse. Occasionally, the best thing that can happen to you is that your basic needs remain painfully, beautifully unmet.
Some callings require hunger. Some dreams demand loneliness. Some purposes only reveal themselves after you have said no to safety and yes to meaning.
My Question to You
Have you ever noticed that the most driven people often come from the most difficult circumstances? Have you ever seen comfort destroy someone’s ambition? Have you ever seen struggle create someone’s greatness?
References
Bostick, D. (2025). Inverting Maslow: A recursive framework for coherence-first human development. PhilArchive.
Jogdand, A. M., & Magar, A. A. (2025). Importance of Maslow’s theory in 21st century and its implications in daily life. International Journal of Indian Psychology, 13(3). https://doi.org/10.25215/1303.051
About Shahnawaz Soomro
Shahnawaz Soomro is a postgraduate student of the Aga Khan University School of Nursing and Midwifery in Pakistan. He is interested in the intersection of psychology, nursing theory, and human potential. This is his first contribution to Nursology.net.
This is a fascinating reframing. What struck me as I was reading is that the critique may not simply be that Maslow placed the needs in the wrong order, but that the pyramid itself reflects a highly individualistic worldview. Nursing theories have long emphasized that persons do not exist as isolated units “climbing upward” toward self-actualization, but are always embedded in relationships, environments, and systems of meaning.
I was also reminded of more recent discussions about Maslow’s interactions with the Blackfoot Nation and the argument that some relational or community-centered concepts may have influenced his thinking, even if they were ultimately reframed within a Western psychological model. Whether or not that influence has been overstated historically, it certainly raises interesting questions about how theories travel across cultures—and how easily relational worldviews can become translated into individualistic ones.
From a nursing perspective, it is difficult to separate survival from relationship. Infants survive because of caregiving; patients heal within networks of support; isolation itself becomes a health risk. In that sense, belonging may not be a “higher” need at all, but something foundational to being human.
Leslie
Very interesting food for thought and interesting to invert the triangle! I worry that by using this model corporations and healthcare systems could excuse staff shortages and how their systems take advantage of nurses for their own profits. Just food for thought. A really interesting essay.
Shahnawaz, thank you for this delightful blog. It brought to mind the idea of the phoenix rising from the ashes. I’ve met so many incredible people—often nurses—who have overcome significant hardship, abuse, or other obstacles in life. Reading this has given me a new perspective on Maslow’s triangle, and I’ll never view it the same way again.
Wow. I commend you for such a powerful message. Your words pierced through my soul and provided a new way of understanding! It was often my most difficult trials that strengthened me…and I did not have the luxury to wait for “basic stability.”
Again, thank you for your insight. What a marvelous scholar you are!
Warm regards,
Rachell
Beautifully explained sir.
Your perspective on Maslow’s theory is deeply thought provoking and realistic. You showed how struggle sacrifice and hardship can become the driving force behind greatness and purpose. The connection between nursing spirituality and human ambition made this message even more powerful. Truly inspiring and meaningful thoughts.
Deeply thought provoking.I really admire how you challenged such a widely accepted idea with both logic and real life examples.
‘’Absence becoming the ladder’’
Beautifuly written and inspiring.
Great article on Maslow and the hierarchy of needs. I found your perspective really interesting, although there are a few points I’d look at through a different lens. I think ultimately, a lot of this comes down to perspective and context.
From being a taxi driver and business owner for over 20 years, and having countless conversations with people from all walks of life, I’ve always seen Maslow’s hierarchy as a great, simple guide. Not a perfect law, but a useful framework for understanding people.
You mentioned the hungriest person working the hardest, and I agree with that to an extent. With my own children, I think routine, structure and independence are important. If you do everything for them, you can take away some of that spark, drive and hunger.
But there’s another side to it. Some people can thrive despite not having a roof over their head or food on the table. For others, having those basic needs met can remove a huge amount of stress and anxiety and allow them to focus on love, belonging and self-esteem. From my experience, physiological needs and safety are very important boxes to tick.
I also agree with your point that Maslow never actually created the pyramid in the form we know today. It was developed and popularised by others afterwards. But again, I see it as a guide. We can pick holes in it, change it and view it through different lenses, but as a simple visual representation of human needs, I think it has value.
I particularly liked your reference to Jean Watson’s theory of human caring and the idea of putting care rather than comfort at the centre of nursing practice. That’s an interesting perspective. However, I think it’s also an example of how much our interpretation depends on the lens we choose to use.
The same applies to your points about religious traditions and teachers. I think context is important. Many of those examples had a specific purpose connected to their relationship with God, depending on the tradition and interpretation.
When you move into the nursing example, I understand the point you’re making, but I think you’re looking at the pyramid through a very specific lens. I speak to a lot of nurses, and I don’t think they would all necessarily interpret it in that way. That’s not to say your perspective is wrong; it’s simply different from mine.
For me, the important thing is remembering that it’s a guide. Most people can recognise the importance of basic needs such as food, shelter, safety, relationships and self-esteem. It doesn’t have to be completely linear or apply perfectly to every individual to still be useful.
I also agree with your point about becoming too comfortable. It’s good to challenge ourselves and look at things from different perspectives. But again, context matters. I recently listened to Katrina Peru from the IM Youth Organisation, who works with young people in low-income areas affected by issues such as gang violence. Her perspective highlighted how important basic needs such as security, food, shelter, love and relationships can be.
That’s why I think we have to be careful about saying that people from the most difficult circumstances are always the most driven. I think that’s true for some, but probably a minority. If hardship automatically created drive, then given the level of poverty and inequality in the world, we would see far more people coming through extreme circumstances as highly driven and successful.
Ultimately, I don’t think it’s about who is right or wrong. I genuinely enjoyed your perspective, and as someone who takes a big interest in self-actualisation and Maslow, I found it fascinating.
There are many different lenses through which we can look at Maslow, the Blackfoot influence and human flourishing. We can take value from different interpretations without needing one to be the absolute truth.
One final point from my own experience in the taxis. I still love doing it because of the interaction, freedom and flexibility. One question I ask many of my customers is, “What would you do if you won the lottery?”
What fascinates me is that quite a few people say they wouldn’t change what they’re doing at all because they genuinely love their job. It reminds me of your point about nurses and that spark people can have for what they do.
For me, when someone says they wouldn’t change their life even if money was no longer an issue, I sometimes wonder whether they have already reached a level of self-actualisation. They have their basic needs met, stability, relationships, self-esteem and a sense of purpose. They’re not driven by money because they’ve already found something that gives their life meaning.
That, to me, is one of the most interesting things about Maslow.
Thanks for the post. I really enjoyed reading it. Ultimately, we all look at these ideas through different lenses, and I think that’s what makes the conversation interesting.