“NIGHT NIGHT PUSSYCAT - HELLO DOG BOD.”

(Is there a link between the two states and self-actualisation?)

Introduction: This paper is a product of my exploration into the changes in my life over the first two years of being a SACH-ist. At the start I was very much a cat person but by the end of the two years I had changed into a dog person. Much of the two courses encouraged personal exploration and development and the resultant changes in my life were phenomenal. As I worked on my evaluation I began to wonder if there was a link between where I was at the beginning of the journey and where I had moved to. Maslow’s hierarchy of need is one method to test where you are and the method I chose in this instance?

For those who skip to the end of a book to find out who did it – my conclusion is – be aware of what is happening to you and take control. In this way you can determine what will be written on your tomb stone. If you don’t others will be only too happy to write your epitaph.

Changes The changes are summarised in the table below.

For me this time of year epitomises the changes perfectly. Two years ago I used to ride a motor bike to work and in winter often frozen. I worked in another community where neither my family nor I benefited from my endeavours save for my salary and the terms and conditions. Now I work in my local community and am investing directly into my family and community and my journey to work is ten minutes.

Check it out. Evaluation can be undertaken in various ways, one of which is by using the technique of mind mapping. Below is a simplified example, which could be used as a starting point, modified or replaced with something more appropriate to you or the client. The important thing is not the method but process – if you are not taking control who is, parent or ex wife? But for me the critical factor is where are you directing your energies – being angry about your past or excited about the future.

Rocket fuel.  My investigation revealed that my progress had been held back where I had been tied to the past and fearful of the future. As I associated with this painful fact I became very angry about the time I had wasted. I then began to realise that I could harness this anger to break free from the past and to move forward to a more rewarding future. 

The more I tasted the bitter pill the more I realised that previously so much of my energies had been taken up with my past. Life is like money you can only spend it once. If you spend yours on the past you will not be able to invest that money in your future. Applying the principle of reframing I was able to realise that the anger that I had experienced had enabled me to break out of the orbit I had become stuck in. In the same way that a booster rocket is fired and then disregarded I had used my anger to fire the rocket and change my trajectory. Remember that as with rockets you may need to fire various stages to achieve each new goal you set and break free from your past. 

Measuring the change. The world seems to have becoming more obsessed with outcomes, measuring and benchmarking, so on the scale of life where was I? Had I moved and if so where was I now on the bench, or was I still on the floor or in outer space? There are various tools but I decided to use Maslow’s hierarchy of need.

Maslow’s hierarchy of need.  First of all a little about the man. Maslow was a humanistic psychologist who rejected the prevalent methodology of exploring psychology either from experimentation with animals or from the experience of mixed-up people. This approach was immediately appealing to me.

http://www.businessballs.com/maslow provided the following extract taken from. Maslow initially identified a hierarchy of five levels consisting. 

1. Biological and Physiological needs - air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex, sleep, etc. 

2. Safety needs - protection from elements, security, order, law, limits, stability, etc. 

3. Belonging and Love needs - work group, family, affection, relationships, etc. 

4. Esteem needs - self-esteem, achievement, mastery, independence, status, dominance, prestige, managerial responsibility, etc. 

5. Self-Actualisation needs - realising personal potential, self-fulfilment, seeking personal growth and peak experiences. 

In the 1970s the following additions were made:

6. Aesthetic needs - appreciation and search for beauty, balance, form, etc.

7. Transcendence needs - helping others to achieve self actualisation.

Maslow said that needs must be satisfied in the given order aims and drive then shift to next higher order needs. Levels 1 to 4 are deficiency motivators; level 5, 6 & 7, are growth motivators and relatively rarely found. The thwarting of needs is usually a cause of stress, and is particularly so at level 4. Examples in use: You can't motivate a person to achieve their sales target (level 4) when they're having problems with their marriage (level 3). You can't expect someone to work as a team member (level 3) when they're having their house re-possessed (level 2).

For me a big benefit is that the hierarchy not only provides for an indicative position it also identifies areas for investigation as to where you can consider making adjustments. By monitoring where you are and what is you can identify and take action before “life bites you in the butt.”

In short the more you take control of your life the greater the choices you have – and yes this includes your ability to choose your pet. 

From my personal experience I believe that whilst cats are lovely creatures a dog requires more investment and offers a greater potential for return. My belief is that it is only once you have personally reached a given point that you can honestly and fairly give a dog the care and love it requires.

Hello dog bod. Where I have been married for 23 years I am taking my experience to include both my partner and myself and now our seven year old son, Big Boy Zig Zag. Our first pet together was a cat. Like many others we were the cat’s last hope - us or the long dark flush to the sea! After much soul searching we decided that a cat would be able to adapt to our eighth floor flat and a litter tray. Over time we escaped the flat and the cat came too. 

Cheryl and I’d both had dogs as children but it was only when our last cat died aged 18 ½ that our circumstances had changed sufficiently to enable us to consider a dog. The desire for a dog does not negate the feelings for the cats that chose to live with us over the years.

The table below highlighting some of the potential differences between the needs of dogs & cats, which in turn link with “their peoples’” and is based on my experiences from having both cats and dogs.

Ok so how to test it? I produced a questionnaire with 25 questions to find out about people, their pet and interaction with it. Attached to the questionnaire was a Psychological test which is used by Dr Phil McGraw. The idea was to see if there was a link between people classified by their pet and hierarchy, initially using Dr Phil’s test. I chose Dr Phil’s test to accompany the questionnaire as it is quick and simple. Maslow’s hierarchy was used in the presentation as a group exercise.

Results Preparation/simplification of the data was minimised to reduce the information being skewed. The only preparation/simplification was where people identified two pets. Where a dog was identified the result was attributed to dogs. The reason for this was that I identified that those with both dog/s and cat/s would also have to cater for both pets but where dogs are “more demanding“ owners would have to make the additional arrangements to care for their dog. My own pet is a retired greyhound and we were “vetted” before we could “take her on”. The result being that we had to make improvements to our garden fence for security and safety for the pet. We had identified the work required ourselves but did not have the work carried out until the inspection was made in case more was required. 

The following is a table giving a brief summary of the results.

The initial results for both male and female respondents combined did not show the result that I had been hoping for. However, the results for the category of “other pets” was disproportionately high due to the low numbers of respondents falling into this category together with their particularly high test results. Breaking down the results by sex showed that there was another peak which corresponded to male dog owners. The results for male dog owners would have been substantially higher as one respondent did not complete his test and so his results impacted on the others.

Comment. How does this link to therapy. I believe that it is applicable on two levels. The first is on the belief/expectations of the therapist that it is possible for an individual to make changes in their client’s life for the better, as I found in my personal circumstances. Rather than just “stay with the negative” show the client that there is a future regardless of the present or past gloom. And yes, help them to bring out the sun! And then you can really give them more than they expected by initiating real change! No expectation – unless you win on the Lottery.

The second is directly with clients. I tried the ideas within the questionnaire with a particularly non communicative secretive client and his involvement prompted me to add the question relating to provision for pets in the event of his death. The process then enabled me to help the client to open up about his childhood, family dynamics through to his present and future aspirations. In the “debrief” the client revealed that he had found the session particularly valuable as he’d felt “at ease” and safe with the content and that it linked with his past, present and future. I believe that the use of the “safe metaphor” can be helpful especially where it can prove a valuable lead in with the client to show the interdependence of the past, present and future in an unobtrusive and unthreatening way.

Conclusion. I believe the questionnaire gave validation to my premise, where men were concerned. However, it didn’t quite do it for me. (Next time different questions or select a sample, which does not involve therapists?) The presentation session confirmed for me that whilst a general principle is nice that within the general are variations. For me the personal gain is that regardless of where you are on any scale we can all benefit from the goal and the process. I certainly intend to continue to review my progress and for this I need goals. In this way we can all reduce the stress which occurs due our expectations of where we are and where we want to be and in this way take control over our epitaphs. 

Remember that whilst you have the power to write your epitaph it is the victors who write the history so be honest especially when you are evaluating your position and your moves and I look forward to meeting you on the winning side.

Comments/questions are welcome to ptggoddard@hotmail.com

Bibliography

http://www.businessball.com/maslow

Dr Phillip C McGraw Self Matters Simon & Schuster

Dr Nicholas Dodman: The dog who loved too much: A Bantam Trade Paperback

Michael Cuming: A Manager’s Guide to Quantitative Methods: ELM Publications

Gerard Egan: The Skilled Helper Brooks/Cole

Dr John Gray: Men from Mars: Women from Venus: Simon & Schuster