--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What a man can be, he must be. This need…" description: "\"What a man can be, he must be. This need we call self-actualizat ion.\" — Abraham Maslow" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3d/abraham-maslow-2146_actualization_what-a-man-can-be-he-must-be-this-need-w_717130.png" --- # What a man can be, he must be. This need we call… ![“What a man can be, he must be. This need we call self-actualizat ion.” quote by Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3d/abraham-maslow-2146_actualization_what-a-man-can-be-he-must-be-this-need-w_717130.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3d/abraham-maslow-2146_actualization_what-a-man-can-be-he-must-be-this-need-w_717130.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3d/abraham-maslow-2146_actualization_what-a-man-can-be-he-must-be-this-need-w_717130.png) > “What a man can be, he must be. This need we call self-actualizat ion.” [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Self‑actualization is the ultimate human drive. **In simple terms:** People strive to become their best selves. Key Takeaway Pursue personal growth. Themes self-actualization potential psychology Mood inspirational reflective Type psychological philosophical When to use this quote - career development - creative projects - education Key Concepts humanistic theory needs hierarchy Questions to Reflect On - What steps are you taking toward self‑actualization? - How do societal pressures affect this drive? A Different Perspective Self‑actualization may be elusive for many. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Actualization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actualization/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self fulfillment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-fulfillment/) ## Related quotes > [What a man can be, he must be. This need we call self-actualization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/what-a-man-can-be-he-must-be-this-need-we-call-self-actualization/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [Musicians must make music, artists must paint, poets must write if they are to be ultimately at peace with themselves. What human beings can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/musicians-must-make-music-artists-must-paint-poets-must-write-if-they/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [A musician must make music, an artist must paint, an poet must write, if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/a-musician-must-make-music-an-artist-must-paint-an-poet-must-write-if/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [The more the development of late capitalism renders obsolete or at least suspect the real possibilities of self, self-fulfillment and actualization, the more they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rosen/the-more-the-development-of-late-capitalism-renders-obsolete-or-at/) [Richard Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rosen/) > [Self-actualizing people are those who have come to a high level of maturation, health and self-fulfillment... the values that self-actualizers appreciate include truth, creativity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/self-actualizing-people-are-those-who-have-come-to-a-high-level-of/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [It looks as if there were a single ultimate goal for mankind, a far goal toward which all persons strive. This is called variously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/it-looks-as-if-there-were-a-single-ultimate-goal-for-mankind-a-far/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [(Some people) have a wonderful capacity to appreciate again and again, freshly and naively, the basic goods of life, with awe, pleasure, wonder, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/some-people-have-a-wonderful-capacity-to-appreciate-again-and-again/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [One can go back toward safety or forward toward growth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/one-can-go-back-toward-safety-or-forward-toward-growth/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [When people appear to be something other than good and decent, it is only because they are reacting to stress, pain, or the deprivation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/when-people-appear-to-be-something-other-than-good-and-decent-it-is/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [The person in peak-experiences feels himself, more than other times, to be the responsible, active, creating center of his activities and of his perceptions.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/the-person-in-peak-experiences-feels-himself-more-than-other-times-to/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [You need self-control in an out-of-control world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-c-collins/you-need-self-control-in-an-out-of-control-world/) [James C. Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-c-collins/) > [I don't want you to beg for it, but If you can wrap your arms around me and love me, I actually don't need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-quoi-jr/i-don-t-want-you-to-beg-for-it-but-if-you-can-wrap-your-arms-around/) [Maurice Quoi Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-quoi-jr/) > [“Be your own fan. We need self-reinforcement, a belief in ourselves that is strong and unwavering. Be ready to pick yourself up when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-niven/be-your-own-fan-we-need-self-reinforcement-a-belief-in-ourselves-that/) [David Niven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-niven/) > [We don't need bigger cars or fancier clothes. We need self-respect, identity, community, love, variety, beauty, challenge and a purpose in living that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donella-meadows/we-don-t-need-bigger-cars-or-fancier-clothes-we-need-self-respect/) [Donella Meadows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donella-meadows/) > [We, as women, often believe that we have to endear ourselves by acting modestly. But that leads personnel directors to think: Anyone who gives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristina-schroder/we-as-women-often-believe-that-we-have-to-endear-ourselves-by-acting/) [Kristina Schroder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristina-schroder/) ## More by Abraham Maslow > [It is unfortunate to consider all lawyers as natural Satanists many are just dumb.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/it-is-unfortunate-to-consider-all-lawyers-as-natural-satanists-many/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [Laugh at what you hold sacred, and still hold it sacred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/laugh-at-what-you-hold-sacred-and-still-hold-it-sacred/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [Good psychology should include all the methodological techniques, without having loyalty to one method, one idea, or one person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/good-psychology-should-include-all-the-methodological-techniques/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [Well why not a technology of joy, of happiness?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/well-why-not-a-technology-of-joy-of-happiness/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [We fear our highest possibilities. We are generally afraid to become that which we can glimpse in our most perfect moments, under conditions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/we-fear-our-highest-possibilities-we-are-generally-afraid-to-become/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [If you love the truth, you'll trust it - that is, you will expect it to be good, beautiful, perfect, orderly, etc., in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/if-you-love-the-truth-you-ll-trust-it-that-is-you-will-expect-it-to/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [My feeling is that the concept of creativeness and the concept of the healthy, self actualizing, fully human person seem to be coming closer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/my-feeling-is-that-the-concept-of-creativeness-and-the-concept-of-the/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [We fear our highest possibility. We are generally afraid to become that which we can glimpse in our most perfect moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/we-fear-our-highest-possibility-we-are-generally-afraid-to-become/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [...the great lesson is that the sacred is in the ordinary, that it is to be found in one's daily life, in one's neighbors,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/the-great-lesson-is-that-the-sacred-is-in-the-ordinary-that-it-is-to/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [Dispassionate objectivity is itself a passion, for the real and for the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/dispassionate-objectivity-is-itself-a-passion-for-the-real-and-for/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [The ability to be in the present moment is a major component of mental wellness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/the-ability-to-be-in-the-present-moment-is-a-major-component-of/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [Plateau experiencing can be achieved, learned, earned by long hard work… A transient glimpse is certainly possible in the peak experiences which may, after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/plateau-experiencing-can-be-achieved-learned-earned-by-long-hard-work/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [You must want to be first-class ...meaning the best, the very best you are capable of becoming. If you deliberately plan to be less…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/you-must-want-to-be-first-class-meaning-the-best-the-very-best-you/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [If you treat your children at home in the same way you treat your animals in the lab, your wife will scratch your eyes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/if-you-treat-your-children-at-home-in-the-same-way-you-treat-your/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [It is vital that people "count their blessings:" to appreciate what they possess without having to undergo its actual loss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/it-is-vital-that-people-count-their-blessings-to-appreciate-what-they/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) [Explore all 182 Abraham Maslow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) ## More Actualization quotes > [It was psychobabbler Abraham Maslow who wrote of the phenomena of self-actualization. What Maslow failed to grasp is that reaching true self-actualization can only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nugent/it-was-psychobabbler-abraham-maslow-who-wrote-of-the-phenomena-of/) [Ted Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nugent/) > [Intimacy requires courage because risk is inescapable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/intimacy-requires-courage-because-risk-is-inescapable/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Money cannot buy the self-actualization of one's feelings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-t-usha/money-cannot-buy-the-self-actualization-of-one-s-feelings/) [P. T. Usha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-t-usha/) > [If you follow your bliss...the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/if-you-follow-your-bliss-the-life-that-you-ought-to-be-living-is-the/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [The horror no less than the charm of real life consists precisely in the recurrent actualization of the inconceivable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/the-horror-no-less-than-the-charm-of-real-life-consists-precisely-in/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [I taught myself to write in order to understand who I was and so yes, writing was an act of self-actualization in the beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-trussoni/i-taught-myself-to-write-in-order-to-understand-who-i-was-and-so-yes/) [Danielle Trussoni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-trussoni/) > [My mom says you only need three people you can rely on to achieve self-actualization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/my-mom-says-you-only-need-three-people-you-can-rely-on-to-achieve/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [The bible is a source of great inspiration to me. It is a textbook of metaphysics. Within the bible are keys to personal growth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/the-bible-is-a-source-of-great-inspiration-to-me-it-is-a-textbook-of/) [John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/) > [“Human beings have an extraordinary capacity to imagine possibilities and then turn those possibilities into realities. Evident in the gifts of civilization—in our arts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-edmund-miller/human-beings-have-an-extraordinary-capacity-to-imagine-possibilities/) [Scott Edmund Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-edmund-miller/) > [It looks as if there were a single ultimate goal for mankind, a far goal toward which all persons strive. This is called variously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/it-looks-as-if-there-were-a-single-ultimate-goal-for-mankind-a-far/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [To achieve self actualization, do good things for other people that you would want to be done onto yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-cabot/to-achieve-self-actualization-do-good-things-for-other-people-that/) [Meg Cabot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-cabot/) > [“There is no greater moment in life than that when we discover the unique design which has shaped our lives from the moment of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-nordby/there-is-no-greater-moment-in-life-than-that-when-we-discover-the/) [Jacob Nordby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-nordby/) > ["Teachers"... treat students neither coercively nor instrumentally but as joint seekers of truth and of mutual actualization. They help students define moral values not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-macgregor-burns/teachers-treat-students-neither-coercively-nor-instrumentally-but-as/) [James MacGregor Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-macgregor-burns/) > [“The leader’s joy is the success of change, the evidence of progress and the actualization of a better life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/the-leader-s-joy-is-the-success-of-change-the-evidence-of-progress/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [“We cannot define ourselves without negating the alternatives that we do not become.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/we-cannot-define-ourselves-without-negating-the-alternatives-that-we/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) [Browse all 71 Actualization quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actualization/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What a man can be, he must be. 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