N for Needs. The A to Z of Conscious Living

Needs

We all have similar needs yet how we meet those needs differs significantly.

There are a few models that look at how we as humans progress through meeting our needs, a popular one being Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs which is well documented (google it to find out more). However, the one I tend to share more often originated with Anthony Robbins.

Robbins came up with six basic human needs that every living human on this planet has. The first two are Certainty and Variety, and essentially it says that we all need some level of certainty in our lives, whether that’s knowing we have a safe home to live, enough money to feed ourselves, certainty of a relationship or many other things in different areas of our life. This is balanced with variety so that we also have a degree of excitement and spontaneity. The degree to which these two are balanced in our own lives can change from person to person and from life area to life area, yet we need to have both needs met in some proportion.

The next two are Significance and Love & Connection. Our need to feel unique, significant and needed is very strong, and that is balanced with our need to belong and feel a part of something. Again the degree to which these two are balanced in our own lives will vary, yet both needs are to be met.

The last two are Growth and Contribution. As with any living thing, if we are not growing we are dying, and so growth of ourselves in terms of our experiences, maturity, knowledge and also consciousness is a key need. Contribution is the need to give back to others and society in some way.

All six needs are common across humans, but what differs is the way in which we strive to get them met, and they can all be met in both a positive and a negative way. For example, someone can feel very significant when they have a gun in their hand, and at the same time feel they belong to the gang that encourages that behaviour. Many people can get the significance need met through illness or they could find it by more positive means such as becoming a volunteer or getting qualifications.

Similarly the need for variety can be met by being social or going on holidays, or by infidelity and crime.

As a very quick overview these six human needs work at a sub-conscious level and how we have learnt to get them met in the past is usually a good indicator of how we react when faced with a need to get them met again.

When living consciously we become aware of what we are doing, saying and thinking to meet our own personal needs in each of these areas, and as we raise our consciousness we can choose those actions that will meet our needs and make us feel proud.

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Until next time,

Alfie X