A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself. What a man can be, he must be.

Abraham Maslow, a leading figure in mid‑20th‑century humanistic psychology, used this line while developing his theory of motivation and the idea of self‑actualization. In his work on psychological health, Maslow argued that beyond basic needs (safety, belonging, esteem), people experience a deeper pressure to realize their capacities and talents. The quote appears in his discussion of the “need for self‑actualization,” where he illustrates how creative or vocational callings can function as inner necessities rather than optional hobbies. The emphasis is on the psychological cost—restlessness, dissatisfaction, lack of inner peace—when one’s potentialities are chronically ignored.

Maslow frames fulfillment as an imperative rooted in human nature: certain abilities and inclinations demand expression if a person is to feel integrated and at peace. The examples (musician, artist, poet) generalize to any vocation or capacity that is central to one’s identity. The second sentence—“What a man can be, he must be”—captures Maslow’s view that well‑being is not merely the absence of distress but the active realization of potential. The quote also implies an ethical dimension: to deny one’s capabilities is to live below one’s possibilities, producing inner conflict and a sense of incompleteness.

1) “A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately happy. What one can be, one must be.”
2) “What a man can be, he must be. This need we may call self-actualization.”