Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Continuum

I'm sure many of you are quite familiar with Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs (I'm going to reference it as MHN hereafter). What you may not know is it can be interpreted as a continuum. I'm going to modify it a bit to illustrate another possibility. The way we are taught to read it is from bottom up (physiological, safety, belonging, self esteem, and self actualization). We take for granted that each need is satisfied in its entirety then you step up to the next one. Take for instance the need for water in a life or death situation; what if the water you need is dirty, it can be drunk to sustain my life. But is it ideal on a continual basis? Of course not, you want clean water. What would your lifestyle be like if you consumed dirty water daily? Keep in mind, your physiological need is being satisfied. I'm sure your overall health wouldn't be so good.

Now consider if for each need there was a left to right "continuum" ranging from "Need" to "Want". Need sustains life and "want" can reflect a quality of life. I've already referenced water as a physiological need, let's take a look at "belonging". To satisfy the need, you only need to be in the company of others who know you personally and or intimately and care about you. However, you may not feel appreciated or valued by them. You then "want" for that feeling of being appreciated and valued and you may experience a sense of despair. So to go from a sense of despair to feeling appreciated and valued, what must you "do"? Do something positive that will inspire joy and laughter to those close to you. This will help lead you to a feeling of accomplishment. Make this a routine and some time after, you should be more to the "want" side of the 'belonging' continuum.