Why Inner Growth Matters: A Discussion

Part 5 of looking at the Dabrowski Moral and Inner Growth Development in Highly Gifted Adults at Midlife

Two considerations stand out as important when one evaluates emotional self-actualization. First, people who have reached levels of self-actualization feel good about themselves, their lives, and the world around them. They are generally hopeful and have positive attitudes toward others. They are not generally depressed and they have a natural drive to contribute through their efforts.

As the analysis of the “case study” material progressed, it became evident that there is reason to consider advanced emotional and moral reasoning levels not necessarily better or desirable for everyone. Stage theory suggests that higher is better, but judging from the kinds of lives the different subjects are leading, and the happiness and contentment often reported by subjects at lower levels, it is important to keep an open mind about what advanced level emotional growth is and is not. [“Case studies” are narratives about the lives of the study subjects; mere quotes with no context aren’t especially helpful, in my opinion.]

Only through future research can it be determined what personal, perhaps inherent, factors may contribute to eventual self-actualization in individual people. It is clear that there are identifiable characteristics…