In 1943 Maslow described human motivations in the Hierarchy of Needs.
The belief was that, we as humans, have a number of physiological needs, such as sleep, food, water, warmth and shelter.
Once we have established these, we seek safety and security i.e. we need to feel safe, in our health, and with our finances before we can develop. Simply put, before we can grow confidence and competence in anything, we have to feel this level of comfort or else we cannot truly experience belonging and love. If we feel protected in the environment we are in, we can begin to sense belonging.
If we put this into a gym setting, when someone feels comfortable and safe in their environment, they can develop confidence and in turn, they’ll feel like they belong. With belonging they are likely to want to return, to experience the same feelings again. This inevitably increases their chances of staying a member.
Becoming a member of a facility, and also a member of the community, with established common goals and shared values, the member is far more are likely to feel belonging.
We can then begin to transition into Maslow’s next level, ‘the tier of esteem’ where we continue to build confidence and strive to achieve more. We do this because we now want to push or develop ourselves and seek recognition for these efforts.
Once we establish self-esteem, we can move onto Maslow’s final level, ‘Self-Actualisation’. This is where one seeks to be all that they can be, based upon one’s values.
Chris Rock explains this concept in the video below:
