How much would you like to achieve personal growth and fulfillment? How much do you think your self-esteem is worth? How much do you value your love and belongingness needs? And what does all that have to do with TASER weapons, stun guns, pepper sprays and self defense products in general?
A lot, actually. And I can definitively back that claim up.
According to Abraham Maslow (a chief proponent of the humanistic school of human behavior), each human being has a five-levels Hierarchy of Needs that motivates his/her behavior. How well you do in life will depend on whether or not you can successfully deal with the needs of each one of your lower, most dominant levels of the hierarchy, as you move up to satisfy the needs of the higher levels. The same process keeps going on, one level at a time, until the highest level possible is reached at and a healthy state of “self-actualization” (psychological wellbeing) is produced.
But what are those specific needs to be satisfied on each particular level of the hierarchy? And what does all that have to do with self defense products in general? Let’s take a quick look at each level of Maslow’s “pyramid of needs”, before we introduce self defense weapons into the whole psychology picture:
Level 5: “Self-Actualization” (Highest level)
Level 4: “Esteem & Self Esteem”
Level 3: “Love & Belonging”
Level 2: “Safety and Security”
Level 1: “Biological/Physiological Needs” (Lowest level)
As you can see, the lowest level of the hierarchy (Level 1) is that of “Biological/Physiological Needs”. Here you must satisfy your most basic human needs, including getting enough food, water, air, sleep, sex, etc. Many crimes are actually motivated by a failure to fulfill these needs through socially accepted channels (be ready to defend yourself with non lethal TASER devices, stun guns, pepper sprays and other reliable self defense products such as surveillance equipments).
Once the biological needs of this first level are met, the second level of Maslow’s Hierarchy (“Safety and Security”) comes into play, its specific needs again motivating your behavior until completely satisfied. This is precisely where self defense products fit into the whole psychological picture. Without these lawful self defense weapons, your “Safety and Security” needs might not be properly met, and your chances of fulfilling those important needs of the remaining next three levels (“Love & Belonging”, “Esteem & Self Esteem”, & “Self-Actualization”) would be decreased (no one can develop those higher level goals of human development under unsafe conditions, according to Maslow’s psychological theory).
However… Is it possible to achieve your full potential as a human being without using any self defense weapon at all? Of course it is. Maslow himself never talked about self defense products. However, the real question you must ask yourself is: What are your chances of retaining your self-actualization status (once achieved) if you become a victim of crime?
It has been estimated that the average American has an 80% chance of becoming the victim of violent crime over the course of a lifetime (by logic, that is exactly the same chance of losing your self-actualization status). If you become a victim of crime, you will most probably regress to a previous “deficit oriented” (not self-actualized) status of the pyramid (levels 1-4), and the quality of your life (and that of your loved ones) would be painfully diminished. In other words, you will most probably lose your self-actualized status (fifth level of the hierarchy).
Moreover, you would also lose your sense of esteem & self esteem (fourth level), as well as your sense of “love & belonging” (third level: you would find it hard to trust others)…even returning to your second level of your own psychological hierarchy: “Safety and Security”. That’s a lot to lose in terms of mental, emotional and even physical health, isn’t it?
TASER weapons, stun guns, pepper sprays, instructional fighting DVDs, surveillance equipments…these lawful self defense products represents so much more than your physical security alone: these are important tools to help you secure all the psychological happiness you and your family may achieve in life. They represent your human right to defend your peace of mind and your emotional wellbeing, and that of your loved ones.
Who says psychology doesn’t have anything to do with prevention? And crime prevention begins with reliable self defense weapons and products. If you protect yourself today, you might even spare yourself (and your family) years of psychotherapy aimed at reconstructing a shattered psychological pyramid of needs that could have remained intact if only you had listened to a good advice…while still in time.
Tags: chief proponent, hierarchy level, hierarchy of needs, love and belongingness, pepper sprays, psychological wellbeing, self defense products, self defense weapons, stun guns, taser weapons