The American Desire for Self-Actualization and Self-Expression

Listening to a podcast recently, I was struck by a quote from an author mentioning the “sometimes obsessive individualism that so characterizes the American culture, . .  my own constant need for self-expression and self-actualization.”

I grew up in the era of “self-actualization.”  It was a fairly new concept, popularized by Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs as the highest level.  It became something people strove for, another goal to reach, ultimate fulfillment.

The irony here is that the people Maslow identified in history as self-actualized individuals probably had no intention of “actualizing” themselves, or even of seeking self-expression.  They were outwardly focused and probably didn’t even think of themselves or about their own “purpose in life” or “life goals” very often.  They were too engaged in something beyond themselves to be focused on themselves.  

If we are determined to become self-actualized, or we are motivated by a need to express ourselves, we are apt to become the very opposite of self-actualized.  We will be self-absorbed.  Like happiness, self-actualization becomes an elusive target if that’s what we aim for.  Instead, it is a by-product.

As Christians, we have been “crucified with Christ” (Galatians 2:20) and “Christ lives in us.”  Instead of becoming “self-actualized” we were crucified.  But this does not mean we may not become self-actualized.  Jesus is considered by many to be the ultimate example of a self-actualized person.  But it does mean that’s not our goal or focus.  It’s something that happens along the way.  Instead, our focus is Jesus.  Like Him, we “do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than ourselves.  Each of us should look not only to our own interests, but also to the interests of others.”  Philippians 2:3-4.