This past Sunday, my Pastor preached a really good message that included a psychological concept that he’d studied in college that listed the 6 needs of every human being. It tied in well with his overall message, which I won’t go into too much detail about here. It was the 6 needs that made me reflect inwardly.
Essentially, every human has 6 needs and we are driven by 1-2 of them. He used the analogy of people riding in a car. We have one need in the driver’s seat and one in the passenger’s seat. These are our primary needs. These are the ones that drive our thoughts, emotions, and decision making. The other 4 needs are just in the back seat making noise. They’re present but they are not driving; they’re just along for the ride. The idea is that we need to know what I our primary needs are, because when we find ourselves frustrated and anxious about our life, it’s likely because our primary needs are not being met; and when our primary needs are not met, we tend to become frustrated, upset, and start to complain, speaking negative things over ourselves out of frustration. He did note that our 6 needs could rotate as we evolve over time. This means that the primary needs that are currently driving us are likely not the same primary needs that were driving us when we were 16 years old.
Here are the 6 needs:
Consistency - You need to have stability in your life. You need to know that you have a certain amount of money in the bank. You need to know that you can trust and depend on the people in your life, etc. You need a certain level of predictability and comfort.
Inconsistency - You’re the person who needs to change things up often. You don’t like monotony. You like roller coasters, sky diving, and other adventurous activities because you seek the thrills.
Love/Family/Connection - You need your connections with your loved ones and those you care about to be good. You need tangible connections with others. You need community and partnerships.
Significance - You need to matter. You want your name to be great. You pay attention to the likes and comments on your posts. You need to know that you are influential.
Growth - You are always in search of BETTER. You need constant growth. You cannot stand feeling stagnant. You’re likely always taking a new class, learning a new skill, etc.
Charity - You have an internal need to give! You are the person who packs up everything to go live in a 3rd world country and implement projects and programs that helps improve the lives of others.
BONUS (not a part of the psych concept): Jesus!! We all need Jesus!
So looking at these, what do you think your driving needs are? What are some of the things in your life that you find yourself worrying about? What are some things in your life that you find yourself ranting/complaining about? It could be that your primary needs aren’t being met. If you find that they aren’t, what do you plan to do about it? I want to challenge you this week to identify your primary needs, and then create an action plan that you can implement over the next 30 days that will help you meet them AND sustain them until they expire per your own personal evolution cycle.
I’d love to know what your plans look like. Feel free to share them in the comments or email me at rosalyn@rosalynharris.com.
Oh and in case you’re wondering…mine are Consistency and Growth! ;)