Six Human Needs

What’s shaping your life?

Do you know what drives you?

Most people have a hard time answering both of those questions and for good reason. They are not easy questions to answer and you can’t answer them with generalized knowledge. Unless you have studied yourself and lots of the research done by the Robbins Institute its completely understandable to not understand those two questions and not know how to answer them.

Truth is, there is something that always has been and always will be shaping your life. I’m not talking about what your goals are, or the things you want or want to do. I’m talking about the reason you beneath the reason. At our core, we have six human needs and each one of us are fueled by these needs, some more than others.

Determining what our core needs are will determine why we want what we want and why we do what we do. Developing an understanding of ourselves on this level gives us the awareness and the ability to step outside ourselves and analyze the decisions and the actions that we make or take and determine if its something that is really in our best interests. This awareness gives us the ability to see through the bullshit and make rational decisions based on who we really are and what we really want, not what we think we are or want.

Its a look into our unconscious mind…

Six Human Needs

1. Certainty: There are people in this world that have a fundamental need to be certain. They must know exactly what is going to happen and when it is going to happen. They must have clarity and be able to know exactly what the outcome is. They don’t like chance, don’t like huge risks and are looking for whatever it is that will give them complete certainty. Humans that are fueled by certainty need to recognize this about themselves because this will hold them back from experiences in life and from taking chances. Having a need for certainty provides a “safe” predictable life at times which is what they want, but is not always what is best.

2. Uncertainty: Thanks to antilogy, if we have certainty as a human need, we must have uncertainty. Just like certainty, there are individuals that are completely driven by uncertainty and are fueled by the unknown. They must have change, takes risks, and love to be spontaneous. Someone who loves uncertainty and is driven by is very adaptable to new changes and actually looks forward to them. They hate the day to day grind and cannot stand the routine 9 to 5. They are gamblers, risk takers, entrepreneurs, business owners. Life must be filled with variety and a high level of the unknown.

3. Significance: Anyone that is driven by significance is always looking for ways to gain importance. This person, the one that is driven by significance is in need to feel like the center of attention, they always want to be the “popular” one. With everyone of the six human needs you can gain your fix by any number of means, with significance it can be contributing to society or holding a gun to someones head. If you give and contribute to a greater cause instantly you are significant and if your in the hood and you hold a gun to someones head, instantly your significant in that situation. Someone who is fueled by significance can either be the most selfless giving person you know or the most selfish person you know. If your giving and selfless, they are satisfying there need for significance by giving to others and lending a helping hand. If they are selfish they are getting their fix of significance by social posturing and the “I’m great because you suck” mindset.

4. Connection & Love: Everyone in the world needs one or the other, most settle for connection because love is to scary and they don’t know how to deal with it. Either way, we are social creatures and everyone has a need on some level to have connection and love in there life. You can very easily make the association with those that are more driven by this need. We all know the friend that always has to be in a relationship…and if they are not they are not happy. On the other hand, we know those people who never date, are always by themselves and enjoy there personal and alone time. Theres no right or wrong, it just is what it is. Understanding connection and love and how it drives you or those around you will give you an ability to understand oneself and those around you on another level. If you are driven by connection and love, you have deep meaningful relationships and are very in touch with those closest to you.

5. Growth: Its been said for years that if your not growing your dying. Nothing stands still, and this is true with us. There are any number of examples to explain this point, but I think you know where I’m going. Nothing ever stays the same – there is no such thing as constant in our world. Growth is a need of the spirit and something that everyone needs. We are all driven by growth, some more than others of course, but as humans we have an desire to grow and learn and conquer. If you are driven by growth you love personal development, you love reading and educating yourself and most importantly you LOVE to share that new found knowledge with others!

6. Contribute Beyond Ourselves: Similar to growth, this is also a need of the spirit. Everyone at some point and time in our lives has a desire to contribute beyond ourselves. As corny as this may be, we all have something unique to contribute to this world and we have a desire to do that. Significance and contributing beyond ourselves can be similar or the same, based on the way you seek significance, but i can also be very different. This is what is most easily called the “Art of Fufillment.” Those that are most driven by this are those that contribute the most to society, make the largest donations, and give back the most.

On every level, we all have parts of each need, and this is important to know and understand. The interesting part about the six human needs their is no clear cut determination to which one you are and why. Its a foundation to understanding the decisions that we make and why we make them. As you were reading that, I’m sure names came to mind as you read 1-6. Thats perfect, that means you are creating the association with the needs and the people that are driven by them in your life.

You realized that the reason your best friend is such tight ass and never likes to do anything spontaneous is because they are driven by certainty. You also realized that the reason your boss always talk so HIGHLY of himself and is always posturing is because he has a need to feel significant. You can also see that the reason why your brother or sister is always in and out of relationships and his always looking for love is because they are heavily in need of love and connection.

It all comes together, and gives all of us a building block for understanding why we do what we do.

Over the last few years there has been lots of authors and speakers I have studied and lots of books that have shaped my thinking, none more than Anthony Robbins. Everyone knows this guys is amazing and this work that was produced by his company, the Robbins Institute is one of the pieces that can and will shape the way you look at things and your life.

Understanding the foundations of the six human needs and how they control and affect us will help you in more ways than you can think.

Enjoy this in depth analysis by Robbins himself. Its a lil long…fyi