In 1943, Abraham Maslow gifted the world with his list of five core essentials that

every human being has in common.

Today, we call the chart Maslow's hierarchy of needs, and it's still a framework for how

we understand and study much of human behavior in our modern world.

The list includes a few obvious entries, such as our physiological needs and our desire

for love and affection.

There are deeper concepts too, like self-actualization and esteem.

They're just as important, but a bit harder for many people to understand at first glance.

But it's the last item on the list that I want to focus on.

It all seems too obvious to be there, but at the same time, it has a bit of everything.

It's basic yet complex.

It straddles the line, and maybe that's why it's so important to all of us.

What is it?

Safety

Humans like to feel safe.

Our pursuit of safety is core to who we are as people.

It's not unique to humans, for sure.

Animals are very good at finding and building homes wherever they can, but it's undeniable

that safety drives a lot of our decisions.

And rightly so, we deserve to feel safe.

One could argue that it's a subset of freedom.

When we are fully in control of our own lives, a portion of that control will always be

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