A row of vehicles with kayaks on their roofs at a homestay in Kampar, Perak.
Knowing Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs may help you understand yourself, your spouse, your buddy or even your customers. And with the new Account Three of the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF), another testament to this hierarchy of needs is now evident.
If your life partner drives home with a kayak lashed to a roof rack that was not there the day before, your eyes might pop out.
It might also be a mountain bike or even a pair of hi-tech trail running shoes. These, invariably, are not cheap.
Before we stamp “spendthrift” on their foreheads (and before you wallow in regret at the cost of your own purchase), here is a quickie on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.
According to psychologist Abraham Harold Maslow in 1943, our most basic needs are things like air, food, water, clothing, sleep and sex.
Once those are more or less secured, people then seek out safety and security. These include shelter, a good living environment, job security, insurance and social protection.
When those needs are found, humans begin seeking more abstract things like love and a sense of belonging among their fellows. Typically, these spell out as friendship, family ties and intimacy.
A kayaker about to hop aboard her boat in clear waters on an ex-mining lake in Air Kuning, Perak.
In the next level, human need becomes more refined: esteem, recognition, fame, respect, mastery, independence and freedom.
When those are achieved, humanity then seeks something deeply personal. They will have self-actualisation needs that have nothing to do with their roles in society.
This is when people want to conquer mountains, kayak in the open sea, pedal through continents, paint masterpieces, compose music, write poems, find the meaning of life and seek God, whatever they perceive God to be, or not.
Now, Maslow clarified that the above five-tier needs – generally labelled as physiological, safety, love and belonging, esteem and finally self-actualisation – are not always sought out in that order.
The basic physiological and safety needs are understandably necessary and beyond those, a person might leapfrog and aim for self-actualisation.
That can explain why your life partner suddenly has a kayak on the car roof.
A lass and her old golden retriever happily landing at Monkey Beach, Penang, on their inflatable raft.
The love for the great outdoors, if you strip it down rationally, is not logical.
It yields no economic returns and you can hurt yourself going out into the wild, blue yonder.
But millions of people worldwide have a yearning to go outdoors, to face the burning sun, the bitter cold, the insect bites, the blisters and abrasions and risk of harm.
Press them for the reason why and they have no answer. They just want to do it.
It has nothing to do with what they are but everything to do with who they are at a level that they cannot express and even their soulmates don’t understand.
An outbreak of blisters on the hand of the writer after paddling for about 80km over four days on a lake in Kedah.
Enter EPF’s Account Three, and this was what I found out:
The seller of high-tech inflatable rafts for fishing and marine exploration in Kedah recorded a 100% spike in the sale of accessories shortly after Account Three opened.
A friend selling outdoor and survival tools online admitted that orders increased after Account Three opened.
Another person I know who sells wristwatches online confirmed his sales went up since Account Three funds became available.
There are so many different types of needs.
Many people put their dreams for riches aside and humbly spend decades as employees.
The young, especially, do not realise that large organisations allocate more payments into the EPF employers’ contributions of long-serving employees as a form of retirement benefit plus as an employee-retention strategy.
Fast forward 30 plus years, and humble, loyal employees see six figures in their EPF savings as a result of compounded dividends and their dedication to the corporations they serve.
Who wants to wait till they are 55 years old before buying kayaks and camping gear?
There will be all kinds of aches in their bodies, not to mention several embarrassing non-communicable ailments.
This is not about survival or mere existence.
There are now many more Malaysians going after their self-actualisation needs with their EPF Account Three.
My salute to you; may you have many great adventures.
