When I (MH) was 12 years old, I told my great-grandmother that I was ‘mature’. My great-grandmother responded, ‘Really? I’m 86 years old and I’m not. But I’m working on it.’ If someone said to you,...

When I (MH) was 12 years old, I told my great-grandmother that I was ‘mature’. My great-grandmother responded, ‘Really? I’m 86 years old and I’m not. But I’m working on it.’ If someone said to you, ‘I’m self-actualized,’ would you believe them? Why or why not? Given that self-actualization is a process, not an end, do you think a self-actualized person would make such a statement?

Do you know anyone personally whom you would consider highly self-actualized? What leads you to think so? Do their values seem consistent with Maslow’s description? If you can, talk to them – do they consider themselves to be self-actualized?