How many of you complain when it rains? Rain seems to be a literal damper on everyone’s day. Rain ruins plans, outfits, and fun in the sun. (Oddly enough, I’m sitting outside while I’m typing this and it’s starting to drizzle). Let’s reframe our thinking for a minute…We NEED water to live. Without rain, we would have no existence. So, without rain, we wouldn’t be around to complain about it because we wouldn’t be alive! Rain is good!

How many of you limit your sleeping hours to get more done, achieve goals, obtain success? Do you pull all-nighters to achieve an A on a paper? Do you stay up late doing extra work to impress your boss? Let’s reframe our thinking again…We NEED sleep to live. Without sleep, we would have no existence. Without sleep, we wouldn’t be alive to worry about our papers or our bosses. So why do we try to limit something that keeps us alive?! Sleep is good!

As humans, we are over-achievers and we take for granted our simple yet essential needs. If you find yourself answering, “yes”, to any of the questions above, you’re not alone. I’m sitting here feeling irked at that rain that is falling. I’m thinking that this rain might interfere with my plans outside today. When in reality, this rain is giving me the opportunity of life! Rain is a free source of medicine for all of us. Then why do I complain about rain?! Because I neglect my simple yet essential basic needs.

Abraham Maslow was an American psychologist well known for his Hierarchy of Needs. For the next 5 blog posts, I am going to be working through the Hierarchy of Needs so that we can take a look at needs versus wants and become the best versions of ourselves.

Maslow believed that humans have 5 stages of needs that need to be met in order to reach “self-actualization”. That’s just a fancy phrase for becoming the best version of yourself.

Today, we will focus on the first stage: physiological needs. These needs are biological requirements for survival. Without these needs, we cease to exist! They include: air, water, food, shelter, clothing, sleep and sex. According to Maslow, these are the most important needs. These need to be addressed first and foremost on the journey to self-actualization. That being said, we need to stop complaining about the rain and limiting our time spent sleeping.

So for the next 7 days, I challenge you to pay extra attention to your physiological needs. Are all of them being met? If not, what can you do to meet these needs? For example, if you’re guilty of cutting corners with sleep, try out a sleep schedule to get back on track. Check-out the Emotional Wellness Tab for guidelines toward optimal sleep.

So the rain interfered with my ability to sit outside while I typed this blog. But now, with my new perspective, I can see that the rain is feeding me and quenching my thirst. Because of the rain this morning, I am being given the most beautiful gift of all, life.

Check-out the Self-Affirmations Tab for more inspiration.