self-actualization

American  

[self-ak-choo-uh-luh-zey-shuhn, self-ak-] / ˈsɛlfˌæk tʃu ə ləˈzeɪ ʃən, ˌsɛlf æk- /

noun

Psychology.

1. the achievement of one's full potential through creativity, independence, spontaneity, and a grasp of the real world.

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self-actualization British  

noun

1. psychol the process of establishing oneself as a whole person, able to develop one's abilities and to understand oneself

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Etymology

Origin of self-actualization

First recorded in 1935–40

Explanation

In psychology, self-actualization is becoming the most complete version of yourself that you can possibly be. Most psychologists believe that self-actualization can only happen after basic needs are taken care of. Self-actualization was coined in 1939 by a German psychiatrist, but it was American psychologist Abraham Maslow who made it a popular term within his field. Maslow developed what he called a "hierarchy of needs," with the most basic human needs being things like food and a home, higher ones including friends and financial security, and the very highest being self-actualization. Creativity, understanding yourself, parenting, and forming solid romantic partnerships are all part of this ultimate personal goal.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

self-actualization

Caught up in my own personal videogame, I would furiously listen to podcasts about fitness, purity, self-actualization, completing my ring.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 29, 2026

The manosphere’s sobriety is robed in strength and self-actualization, no different than the sleep routine, supplements, and squats that will sculpt the best version of you.

From Slate ● Feb. 15, 2026

Any humiliations Crowe might have suffered as an uncertain teen were for his mother merely speed bumps on the journey to self-actualization, ideally as a lawyer.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2025

But it would be hard to see anything but liberation and hard-earned self-actualization in Schoenbrun.

From Seattle Times ● May 1, 2024

All historical religions, the Oriental, the Jewish, the Greek, the Roman, and the Christian, are the successive stages in the development or self-actualization of God.

From Christianity and Greek Philosophy or, the relation between spontaneous and reflective thought in Greece and the positive teaching of Christ and His Apostles by Cocker, B. F. (Benjamin Franklin)