Written by: Dr. Mykim Tran, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
What is humanistic psychology? As human beings, we come to this world with a good intention to become fully functional individuals. Humanistic psychology is about understanding human potential and helping individuals achieve that goal.
Humanistic psychologists aim to study and research the best path to help individuals achieve freedom and autonomy. They also aim to discover the motivation behind behaviors to help others achieve their goals and discover what they are meant to do in life.
Humanistic psychology is about understanding the whole person, body, mind, and spirit, and how they help individuals become the best versions of themselves. The discipline also focuses on building individuals’ inner strengths so that no matter what happens from the outside, they will always be able to overcome challenges and keep moving forward to reach their full potential.
7 tips to become a humanistic individual
Being a humanistic individual is about using your talents to promote the well-being and welfare of everyone and everything.
1: Focus more on inner qualities
You want to engage in activities that develop your inner qualities of forgiveness, appreciation, self-confidence, self-esteem, joy, fulfillment, etc. For example, learn to forgive yourself and others more often. Appreciate what you have in life. Even though you can always work to achieve more, appreciate what you have. Develop hope and faith that a better future still exists. Challenge yourself or step outside your comfort zone to increase self-esteem and self-confidence.
Click here to learn more ways to build your inner qualities.
2: Engage in small acts of kindness
Practice and develop the habit of engaging in small acts of kindness. Today, small acts of kindness are big acts of kindness. No matter how small the act is, something or someone will benefit. Never underestimate the power of kindness. Kindness is also one quality of the human spirit.
When you can help someone, take the time to do so. Or pick up trash around your neighborhood. This does not necessarily mean you have to put out time to pick up trash daily, but whenever you see trash as you go about your day, it is an act of kindness to pick and throw it away.
Be kind and support each other, whether you know them or not. That act of kindness can help you build successful relationships. The combination of daily small acts of kindness will transform the world.
3: Use your talents to help others
You want to use your talents to contribute to a better society. Along the way, you will also transform and reach your full potential. You will realize that the world must be positive for you to reach your full potential. You cannot thrive in a hostile environment because it will be difficult to use your talents successfully.
When you discover a new way to apply your talents, you must act immediately to contribute to the world. The only way for the world to transform is when you take action. You cannot become a humanistic individual when your talents are unutilized.
You will also experience meaning and purpose and develop a sense of belonging when contributing to society because what you do matters. Belonging is one of the human needs on the hierarchy pyramid. The stronger your sense of belonging, the more motivation you will have to learn, grow, and do great work, and that is a humanistic individual.
Click here to learn how to use your talents to create meaning and purpose.
4: Engage in a lifelong process of personal development
You must always find ways to learn and grow yourself to become better. The better human being you become, the more humanistic you become. The great thing is that you will never run out of ways to learn and improve because you are not a perfect person. As a matter of fact, if you stop learning and growing, then that is not a humanistic individual.
Click here to learn how to be on a lifelong personal development journey.
5: Have a positive outlook in life
A positive outlook motivates you to keep learning and using your talents to contribute to society. You will encounter challenges that will test your inner strengths and can make it difficult for you to see a positive outcome in the future. Therefore, you must develop a positive mindset with determination, persistence, and consistency to make success possible no matter what happens.
If not, the moment you stop contributing to the well-being of society, your humanistic qualities will decrease. A humanistic individual always finds ways to move forward, and having a positive outlook is important to achieve that goal.
Click here to learn how to develop a positive attitude and mindset.
6: You fight for equality
You use your talents to ensure everyone has the same opportunity to reach their full potential. When you see a gap that your talents can fill so you and others can reach their potential, you must put in the effort to fulfill that need.
7: Creating and living your own life
Reaching your full potential starts as an individual journey because no one will better understand who you are and what your passion is except for you. You must learn to block out external influences to stay focused and believe you can create and live your own life. Even though you can get others’ advice and support, by the end of the day, you must make your own decisions to develop your life. Be independent and use your talents to become a humanistic individual and reach your full potential.
Click here to learn how to make decisions and create your lifestyle.
Do you have a passion for humanistic psychology?
You believe that human beings are born positive individuals
You are on a mission to become a fully functioning individual
You have the desire to discover the gift of being a human and its full capacity
You enjoy learning about human motivation and behaviors and how to help yourself and others thrive
You focus more on internal than external motivation
You have the desire to understand how everything and everyone is connected
You believe that everyone on earth has a purpose in life and contribute to a better society
Starting your career in the humanistic psychology industry
You can begin by taking an introductory course in psychology and learning the different aspects of human beings and their potential to see which path best suits you.
You can pursue a certificate program in your field of psychology.
You can then further your education into associate, bachelor's, master’s, and Ph.D. programs as you continue to learn and grow to increase your self-understanding.
You can also attend workshops, training, and seminars, read books, and listen to podcasts to learn about psychology.
You must become an entrepreneur to test your knowledge and skills to help you make better decisions. If you learn something new and have no outlet to try it, you will not know if your learning best fits you or not. As a result, you will have a difficult time knowing how to move forward. However, immediately testing your knowledge is the key to self-discovery to use your talents better, contribute to society, and become a humanistic individual.
Dr. Mykim Tran, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Dr. Mykim Tran is an expert in humanistic psychology. She is a keynote speaker, educator, life coach, author, and scientist. She is on a mission to help individuals create a powerful legacy that will carry on for eternity. In the process, individuals will transform into the best version of themselves and reach their full potential. Dr. Tran is the founder and CEO of Wake-Up Foundation, a non-profit agency, transforming individuals into social change agents to promote stronger communities. She received her bachelor's degree in Media Communications from the California State University of Sacramento, her master's degree in Psychology at Walden University, and her PhD in Humanistic Psychology at Saybrook University
