What is the best way to learn life?

The best way to learn life is to know which part you want to learn. This is why it is compelling to begin with Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Don’t worry if it sounds too complex, it is really simple. Here is the pyramid.

TRAVEL: As you can see, the base of the pyramid is our basic needs. To explore about these, travel to some part of the world where food and water is scarce. This is not just the basic human need to survive, it is also the most difficult to bear. Apparently, our existence can be wiped out without it yet we pay so little attention to learning about these. It is not enough to go to a grocery shop and buy your food. To know about where it comes from, how many people don’t have enough food, the consequences of excess food, the quality of your air, the source of the water you drink, basics of safe sex and importance of non drugged sleep are just some starting points in your journey to learn life.

EARN: Next come the need for financial resources, health and home. This is a mix of many things. You can learn about these beginning from menial or low wage jobs in order to understand how the world works, the rules of spending hard earned cash and a lot more. Trust me, spending your parents money will never teach you these.

HOME: Love, sense of belongingness and sexual intimacy go back to the parents. The best way to learn about all this is from your parents; what to do and what NOT to do as well. As a child, you see your parents as role models and assume what they do are ‘usual’. The way your parents interact with each other or fight with each other has a great influence on you and will stay with you forever. Whenever you enter in a relationship, you’ll act like your parents did (more often than not).

UNIVERSITY: The next set of needs can be best learnt at school, university or college. When you learn or get an education, you reach that second last level in the hierarchy. This is where ‘good’ candidates stay or rather pretend to stay.

YOURSELF: The topmost area is reserved for greatness. To learn greatness, you must know about the things below. The greatness triangle is also called ‘self-actualization’. It involves skills like problem solving, creativity, morality etc. In other words, it contains people who are great, the ones who contribute to the welfare of the entire society, not just of themselves. To learn how to be great, you must learn to be the best of what you can be and contribute it to make the world a better place.

Ciao!