What is the secret?
Self-Actualization is a function of meaning and performance. Rich inner meanings of significance and inside values (i.e. visions, dreams, values, understandings, beliefs, etc.) actualized in real-time actions, behaviors, speech, and responses — performances — on the outside. Realizing this opens up new insights and processes for unleashing our highest potentials.
1.The relationship between meaning and performance -
We relate meaning and performance as an interactive system. The more you act on your meanings and the more you give richer meanings and challenge to your actions, the more you self-actualize your potentials.
However, the more meanings you create without taking action, the less we actualize, and so the less integrated and congruent you will become. The more you act and perform without reflecting on meaning, or connecting to your highest meanings, the less meaningful the activities, the less motivation you’ll have and the less whole and healthy you’ll be.
We all seem to have natural predispositions for either the meaning or the performance. Which is your tendency?
2.The Self-Actualization Flow Channel: Creators -
High Meaning is the realm of creating, dreaming, designing, planning, etc. Those who are naturals here have great ideas, beautiful visions, and brilliant schemes. Here, people live in the Construct of meaning where they use their dreams, visions, and values to create meaning and to invent the various forms of meaningfulness.
However, when a person does this without the interface of performance, that person becomes just a dreamer. He will dream and wish his life away and while he may feel tremendously inspired by it all, yet in actuality he will do nothing and so achieve nothing.
Tip: For those best skilled in the construction of meaning (creators) to move into the actualization channel they have to unleash themselves from their over-dreaming and over-optimism. They do that by learning how to implement and execute their visions and follow through with more discipline on their plans.
3.The Self-Actualization Flow Channel: Performers -
High Performance is the realm of performance, action, movement, response, activity, etc. Those who are naturals here have a tremendous outward orientation and are typically practical, pragmatic, social, and extroverted. As a result they often achieve tremendous success, money, status, achievements, etc.
Yet this also can become addictive and over-done. When a person does so without sufficient meaning, they will become compulsive, workaholic, and a Type-A personality. People in this mode can wear themselves out as they become more and more efficient, but less and less effective in living their lives. Taken to the extreme, they increasingly become compulsive in doing things and can wear themselves out in always pushing for more efficiency.
Tip: If you are more skilled in taking action (performers), you have to learn the more reflective skills as well as framing skills regarding how to set new meaning frames to keep yourself fascinated in your engagements so that they seem important and significant. In this way you will move from being stuck to where you can unleash your potentials.
Final Thoughts - When our meanings are healthy, appropriate, enhancing, empowering, and expanding our life experience, we often have peak experiences. But when the meanings are limited, or worse, when they are toxic and morbid, then our responses (or our meanings-in-action) become our toxic habits and self-sabotaging life-styles.
Realizing this opens up new insights and processes for unleashing our highest potentials. This is the untold secret of self-actualization.
Referencing,
Dr. Michael L. Hall, NLP Cognitive Psychologist &
Nicolas Hagen, B.Soc Sci (Psych), Licensed NLP Meta-Coach.
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