I watched the trailer for the new Julia Roberts movie yesterday ‘ Eat,Pray,Love’ and I can see why the US audience of affluent bored women would pay to see it.

Personal Motivation, Improvement and Development.

I have noticed a Huge proliferation in the number of books recently on self-development and Personal Fulfillment.

To some people this is a ‘management-speak’ way of saying ‘Pull yourself together and think about the positive things in your life, stupid. Nobody is interesting in your whining.’ And there is a lot of truth in that.

After all, we have so much to be thankful for.

There is so much pain and suffering in this world, and here we are enjoying a luxurious lifestyle where we don’t worry about where the next meal is coming from or where we are going to sleep tonight. We can trust our police force and have a health system other countres can only dream of.

So why is it that we are still so miserable?

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is one idea.

the bottom line seems to be that:

 Needs for Self-Actualization

When all of the foregoing needs are satisfied, then and only then are the needs for self-actualization activated. Maslow describes self-actualization as a person’s need to be and do that which the person was “born to do.” “A musician must make music, an artist must paint, and a poet must write.” These needs make themselves felt in signs of restlessness. The person feels on edge, tense, lacking something, in short, restless. If a person is hungry, unsafe, not loved or accepted, or lacking self-esteem, it is very easy to know what the person is restless about. It is not always clear what a person wants when there is a need for self-actualization.’

I find this very interesting, since most of the self-help books are aimed at non-creative people.

But we are all looking for happiness in one way or another.

From a writer’s POV the Goal Motivation and Conflict Scenarios we create link directly into these theories at SO many levels of Fundamental Need.

Hope. Positive energy. Aspirational Love.  All food for the soul.

I’ll have me some of that – but I don’t need to go to the cinema.