self-actualize
Reach full potential
Self-actualize is to fulfill one's potential and become the best version of oneself.
The term comes from psychology, where self-actualization sits at the top of Maslow's hierarchy of needs—the stage reached after basic survival, safety, and belonging are secured.
She left her corporate job to self-actualize through art.
The word often carries a whiff of self-help culture or privilege: not everyone has the luxury to worry about self-actualizing.
Latent capacity for development
- realizationGrasping what's true
- authenticityQuality of being genuine
- purposeReason something exists
- meaningWhat something signifies
wholeness · flourishing · inner peace · contentment · satisfaction · completion · becoming · integration
Moments of supreme well-being
- hierarchy of needsOrdered human motivations theory
- prepotentHaving superior power
- transcendersThose who rise above
Freedom from external control
- agencyPower to act
- sovereigntySupreme independent authority
- freedomAbsence of constraint
- choiceAct of selecting
Complete skill or control
- excellenceOutstanding quality or merit
- capabilityPower to accomplish tasks
- accomplishmentSuccessful completion of aim
- attainmentSuccessful reaching of goal
success · breakthrough · pinnacle · aspiration · ambition · goals · milestones · competence
Bettering oneself over time
- transformationThorough change in form
- evolutionSpecies changing over generations
- maturationProcess of becoming complete
- expandingGrowing in scope
unfolding · cultivating · nurturing · developing · progressing · stretching · deepening · introspection
potential
Latent capacity for development
- realizationGrasping what's true
- authenticityQuality of being genuine
- purposeReason something exists
meaning · wholeness · flourishing · inner peace · contentment · satisfaction · completion · becoming · integration · alignment
peak experiences
Moments of supreme well-being
- hierarchy of needsOrdered human motivations theory
- prepotentHaving superior power
- transcendersThose who rise above
independence
Freedom from external control
- agencyPower to act
- sovereigntySupreme independent authority
- freedomAbsence of constraint
choice · individuation · empowerment · inner-directed · own path
mastery
Complete skill or control
- excellenceOutstanding quality or merit
- capabilityPower to accomplish tasks
- accomplishmentSuccessful completion of aim
attainment · success · breakthrough · pinnacle · aspiration · ambition · goals · milestones · competence · expertise
personal development
Bettering oneself over time
- transformationThorough change in form
- evolutionSpecies changing over generations
- maturationProcess of becoming complete
expanding · unfolding · cultivating · nurturing · developing · progressing · stretching · deepening · introspection · reflection
self-actualizestagnate
Cease to develop
atrophy · regress · languish · wither · deteriorate
self-actualizeself-destruct
Destroy oneself automatically
disintegrate · fall apart · decompensate · break down · self-sabotage
self, actual, actuality, selves, selfhood, actualize, actualization, self-realization, self-actualization