Discover why safety and security are essential foundations for growth. Explore Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and how stability frees us to flourish.
Maslow’s Hierarchy Needs: Why Safety Comes Before Growth
We often think of growth as simply “pushing forward.” New habits, bigger dreams, a new season of life. But what if the real foundation of growth is not effort or ambition, but safety?
This was the insight of psychologist Abraham Maslow, whose Hierarchy of Needs remains one of the most influential models of human motivation. After recently reading Toward a Psychology of Being, I was reminded that Maslow wasn’t just sketching a pyramid—he was pointing to the reality that growth requires stability, security, and trust as a base.
The Hierarchy at a Glance
Maslow’s model outlines how human motivation progresses through layers of need. While the familiar pyramid illustration is helpful, it is also an oversimplification. We rarely move in a neat, linear path upward. Life circumstances can shift us down, and sometimes we oscillate between levels depending on what’s happening.
- Physiological Needs → Food, water, shelter—the basics of survival.
- Safety Needs → Security, stability, and protection from harm.
- Love & Belonging → Intimacy, friendship, community.
- Esteem Needs → Respect, recognition, self-worth.
- Self-Actualization → Growth, creativity, fulfillment of potential.
Maslow later expanded the model further, but even this original structure points to a truth: safety is the soil in which growth takes root.
Deficiency Needs vs. Growth Needs
One of Maslow’s key contributions was distinguishing between deficiency (D) needs and being (B) needs:
- Deficiency Needs (Physiological, Safety, Love/Belonging, Esteem) → When we lack them, we are driven to seek fulfillment. Once satisfied, the motivation fades.
- Growth Needs (Self-Actualization) → Unlike deficiency needs, growth motivation does not end once fulfilled. Growth itself generates further desire to grow.
In other words: once we feel safe, we are free to expand into creativity, authenticity, and meaning.
Why Safety Comes First
Safety is not the end goal, but the condition that makes growth possible.
- When our bodies are exhausted or our lives feel unstable, personal development takes a back seat.
- When relationships are threatening or finances shaky, it’s harder to dream big.
- Only when the ground beneath us feels steady do we dare to take risks, try new things, and stretch toward our potential.
I know this from experience. There have been seasons in my own life when I felt stuck at the level of safety needs—longing for growth, but not able to reach for it until I had a more secure foundation. Perhaps that’s why this topic resonates so deeply for me. As the saying goes, “research is me-search.”
Safety allows us to step out of our comfort zone wisely—not recklessly. Growth always involves risk, but we can only risk when we first feel anchored.
Growth as a Choice
In Toward a Psychology of Being, Maslow emphasizes that growth is often about choosing courage over fear. When faced with conflict or uncertainty, we can make “growth choices” that move us closer to authenticity, autonomy, and purpose.
But here’s the paradox: those choices are only truly available when we have enough of a foundation to stand on. Otherwise, survival takes over.
“We fear our highest possibilities, our highest self. We are generally afraid to become that which we glimpse in our most perfect moments. We enjoy and even thrill to the godlike possibilities we see in ourselves in such peak moments, and yet we simultaneously shiver with weakness, awe, and fear before these same possibilities.” — Abraham Maslow, Toward a Psychology of Being
This quote captures the tension: once safety is secured, growth still requires courage.
Setting the Stage for What’s Next
This article is the first in a short series exploring how safety provides the foundation for growth. In the weeks ahead, we’ll look at how this plays out in:
- Emotional Safety → creating space for healing and change
- Relational Safety → boundaries and trust as growth fertilizer
- Financial Safety → stability before expansion
- Spiritual Grounding → finding safe harbor in transition
Because growth isn’t just about striving. It’s about building a steady ground beneath us—so we can step forward with confidence.
– Laura