“Man moves to satisfy a need,” Rudolf Laban wrote. “It is easy to perceive the aim of a person’s movement if it is directed to some tangible object. Yet there also exist intangible values that inspire movement.”
Laban’s comments remind me of the motivational theory of psychologist Abraham Maslow. Maslow proposed a Hierarchy of Needs. This hierarchy has two parts. First there are the things we must have to sustain personal existence. These needs include food, water, sleep, and shelter – what Laban would call tangible needs.
For Maslow, the next level of needs include love, belonginess, and esteem. Beyond these motivators come even more intangible needs – the desire for self-expression, beauty, knowledge, truth, even immortality.
From Laban’s point of view, effort is required to satisfy any of these needs. Find out more in the next blog.