In the spaces given below, describe yourself in relation to each of Maslow's characteristics of a self-actualized person. How closely does the description fit you? Where would you like to make changes?

1. Clear perception of reality and comfortable relations with it. The self-actualized person judges others accurately and is capable of tolerating uncertainty and ambiguity.
   
   
2. Acceptance of self and others. Self-actualizers accept themselves as they are and are not defensive. They have little guilt, shame, or anxiety.
   
   
3. Natural and spontaneous. Self-actualizers are spontaneous in both thought and behavior.
   
   
4. Focus on problems rather than self. Self-actualizers focus on problems outside themselves; they are concerned with basic issues and eternal questions.
   
   
5. Need privacy; tend to be detached. Although self-actualizers enjoy others, they do not mind solitude and sometimes seek it.
   
   
6. Autonomous. Self-actualizers are relatively independent of their culture and environment, but they do not go against convention just for the sake of being different.
   
   
7. Continued freshness of appreciation. Self-actualizers are capable of fresh, spontaneous, and nonstereotyped appreciation of objects, events, and people. They appreciate the basic pleasures of life.
   
   
8. Mystic experience. Self-actualizers have had peak experiences or experiences in which they have attained transcendence.
   
   
9. Social interest. Self-actualizers have feelings of identification, sympathy, and affection for others.
   
   
10. Interpersonal relations. Self-actualizers do on occasion get angry, but they do not bear long-lasting grudges. Their relationships with others are few but are deep and meaningful.
    
    
11. Democratic character structure. Self-actualizers show respect for all people regardless of race, creed, income level, and so on.
    
    
12. Discrimination between means and ends. Self-actualizers are strongly ethical with definite moral standards. They do not confuse means with ends; they relate to ends rather than means.
    
    
13. Sense of humor. Self-actualizers have a sense of humor that is both philosophical and nonhostile.
    
    
14. Creativeness. Self-actualizers are original and inventive, expressive, perceptive, and spontaneous in everyday life. They are able to see things in new ways.
    
    
15. Nonconformity. Self-actualizers fit into society, but they are independent of it and do not blindly comply with all its demands. They are open to new experiences.
    
    

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