What Needs Drive You?

There are 6 basic human needs. It is generally understood that 4 of these are base needs and the last 2 are considered spiritual needs. Every human being is driven by two of these as the most important in his/her life.

The six are:
Certainty - stability, knowledge that their basic survival needs will be met. Also that there are things a person can count on in their daily lives.

Variety or uncertainty - having things be different, change. This is a very important need and it can conflict with the need for certainty, creating a certain tension for the individual.

Significance - everyone needs to feel important and noticed by others. It can be done in a positive way by doing something that is deserving of and receives notice in the eyes of others. On the other hand, if the person feels he or she cannot gain significance in a positive way, they might choose to gain it by expounding on the enormity of their problems and their own helplessness. This is akin to the child who only gains attention from adults by acting out, any attention is better than no attention.

Love and connection - the need to feel loved or connected to others or even themselves. This might also come in the form of a spiritual connection.

The 2 spiritual needs are:

Growth - it has been said that that which is not growing is dying. This is, in a sense, very true. Gaining new knowledge or skill is one way to growth. There are many paths to personal growth, most human beings realize the need for it, even if it is subconsciously.

Contribution - this has a bit of an overlap with significance. People want to contribute, to make the world a better place or help others. Survival and advancement of humankind depends on contribution. And, of course, the person can gain significance through his or her contribution.

The question is which of thse are the driving forces in your life? And are you even aware of which hold the highest importance?

Pondering on these questions can lead to some very positive results. Greater self knowledge can drive your quest for excellence and happiness in life.

Transformation in Process

It has been a while since I have posted here. I have allowed my life to move forward at its own pace without much input from me. I have a routine and it continues day-to-day without much change.

Ah-Ha! This is where the rubber meets the road. Allowing myself to coast through my life does not bring me to where I want to go. It is like setting out on a trip with some vague idea of a destination but no map or plan. How well would you do getting to your imagined destination? Not very well as far as I can tell. Meandering around does not create a successful journey if there it truly a destination.

Unfortunately, I have either allowed myself to meander or to jump too quickly into the ocean. I don't do moderation too well, nor do I do contemplation with a lot of grace.

What I do know, however, is that I cannot continue to go slowly nowhere. I must seize the reins and create the direction of my life and my own transformation. Easier said than done!

I am in the middle of defining my mission in life. As Richard Bach once stated, the way to tell if your mission in this life is complete is to ask if you're still alive, if you are, it isn't! (Not a direct quote, my own interpretation.)

I am undertaking the hardest part of my journey now, contemplating exactly where I want to go and how to get there. No, I'm not planning a trip, except the one through my own life. The interesting part is figuring out where I want to be and then the steps to getting there.

Can I do it without just jumping in and hoping I can swim and avoid the sharks?

Stay tuned and find out!

Moving Forward

I have found that one of the hardest things to do is to deliberately move forward. Too often I, and others I know, tend to allow life to move along without much input or effort on my part. Obviously time moves on. The question is what do we as conscious beings do with that movement?

I can choose to take some of that time and decide what my goals and path should be or I can just let the time pass. I've often heard from people that they are too old to do something. The idea is that in 5 years I will be 50 or 65 or whatever so I'm too old to do that. However, whether one does it or not he or she will still be that age in 5 years.

My point is that time moves forward. I am choosing to make that movement deliberate on my part and do something rather than let the time move on without accomplishing anything.

I have already made huge changes in my life. Change is inevitable, therefore I should be in charge of that change, not let it happen totally randomly.