Theory of Critical Approach

13 The first stage is physiological needs. As the basic stage, it becomes the strongest needs among the other human needs to be able to survive physically. The needs are hunger, thirst, sex, sleep, oxygen, and the other biological needs. The second stage is safety needs. The safety needs represent a need safety or security in our environment, such as protection, law, and stability. This safety needs also include the personal security, financial security, and health. Because of the reason, people mostly chose to have secure jobs, familiar surroundings, and insurances. The third stage is belongingness and love needs. In this stage, human needs to feel as a part of a group, and to have relationship with the others. These needs are different from sexual needs. It is more to get affection from family and from the surroundings, have a work group, and have relationship with others as a part of a society. The fourth stage is esteem needs. Esteem needs present a normal human desire to be accepted and valued by others. It is called a positive need because this need likes an evaluation of oneself. The last is self-actualization. This is the final stage of development in the hierarchy of human needs. Someone will come to this stage if they are already satisfied the first, second, third, and fourth needs. It is the needs which are motivated human to grow, to find self-fulfillment, and to realize one’s potential. Based on Maslow’s The Farther Research of Human Nature 44, there are eight ways leading to self-actualization. The eight ways are: 14 1. Concentration According to Maslow, “First, self-actualization means experiencing fully, vividly, selflessly, with full concentration, and total absorption” 44. In experiencing a moment in life, individuals have to be aware of everything happens around them. Therefore, it is important for individuals to forget their resistance and introversion. This is the moment of self-actualizing. 2. Growth choices In life, individuals have to make a lot of choices. In making decision, it can lead to the progress choice or the regress choice. More than those choices which an individual has to make, there is a growth choice to choose one option, the right choice. To make a growth choice in life, someone has to open his or herself to the new and the challenging experiences and not afraid to the possible failure or disappointment. That is why self-actualization called as an ongoing process 44. 3. Self-awareness Self-awareness is a moment when an individual becomes aware of their own potentials and their inner nature. In this phase, an individual can decide their own likes and dislikes or the right or wrong for their own. 4. Honesty Sometimes there is a time when doubt comes to someone’s mind. It is not easy to make an honest decision. Self-actualization happens when an individual can make an honest action based on their heart and take the responsibility of it. 15 5. Judgment By following those first four steps can guarantee individuals to have a better life. When individuals dare to follow their own taste, they can feel that they already make a good judgment for their own. They will find a better choice about what is right or wrong for him or her. 6. Self-development Self-actualization is also an ongoing process developing individual’s potentialities. It means that working to do well the thing that one wants to do 46. It is a never ending process to make real the potentials in life. 7. Peak experiences Peak experiences are transient moments of self-actualization 46. At this moment, individuals are already aware of their own potential and where their good at. Individuals can think clearly, have better understanding to others, and have less conflict with their selves. 8. Lack of ego defenses This is the hardest thing to do. Individuals have to be able to make defenses although sometimes it hurts to make a defense to something unpleasant. When individual has to make a defense, individual must be aware to the other defense the society. This novel tells about Totto-chan’s childhood experiences. Therefore, from those eight ways in leading to self-actualization, I will only focus on the first way about direct experiences that can help someone to actualize herself or