Why do reaching goals provide satisfaction?

[Maryjfl]

Why do reaching goals provide satisfaction??

Hoping that this is an interesting question...

Why does having a "goal" and a plan for your life provide satisfaction?

Using the "hierarchy of needs" of Maslow, I'm thinking that following that goal is the same as reaching the level of "self-actualization", but can anybody assure the reasons for needing to self-actualize oneself? How did this guy came upon that concept... how can one prove that all humans would follow that path of self-actualization, be it the case, that world hunger and emotional disorders were gone?
As far as my research went (very poor research) it said that Maslow (and all humanists) believe that "Humans seek the frontiers of creativity, the highest reaches of consciousness and wisdom" (go to http://www.hcc.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/maslow.htm) and the evidence would be that his "theory accurately describes many realities of personal experiences".

OK, your turn, what do u think? could somebody be able to refute his theory of the human striving for success? Or why would u think it is true?

...and hoping there are simpler answers to such a redundance of terms. Thanks

 

[Kerrie]

great topic mary...having some kind of goal in my life does provide great satisfaction, matter of fact, i get a little depressed if i have none...goals and hobbies are both what i indulge my energy into...

 

[himanshu121]

Realiy says most of us strive for Goals/ Success in our career. Okay if you are proficient in one particular field will it be of any use if you don't have goals to prove it.

Okay Consider a great Archer who has got plenty of arrows and a bow but got no target to practice, will it provide satisfaction to him.

Exactly Consider Sherlock Holmes who gets bored by emptiness or situation of being without a goal

 

[Zantra]

Simple human nature. We must have goals to attain or we lack definition of self. It is our achievements, weather personal or public, that allow us to define ourselves. It's intrinsic to our evolution to have goalsetting. It's part of our curiosity and survival instinct.

 

[selfAdjoint]

St. Thomas Aquinas identified goal seeking as the "animal" portion of the soul. He noted that animals do this (seeking food, mates, etc.) and plants don't.

Turning Aquinas on his head, it's easy to see 2why satisfaction at goal achieved would evolve, without it a mammal species would die out.

Here's a general question. Do all those activities which are physically required or evolutionarily favored seem pleasurable to us? Defecation is another such activity that we couldn't do without and whose mysteriously pleasurable quality has been discussed before on these boards.