The 6 Things We Need

There are 6 things that we as human beings needs (aside from food, water and shelter). We are all unknowingly driven to fulfill 4 basic needs: certainty, variety, significance and a love connection. The other two needs -happiness and fulfillment- are gained through what are called the two needs of the spirit: growth and contribution. All of these needs combined are what make us human. They give us a sense of purpose and need. They are the things that we search for all our lives all the while never really knowing what we're looking for. So in this entry I will break down and briefly explain each of these needs and why we need them.

1) Certainty: The need of certainty applies to having certainty in your job, life and maybe certainty in a relationship or certainty that your significant other doesn't have one foot out the door. Natural disasters or the death of a close friend can take away the feeling of certainty. Being uncertain can harm the spirit but it is good to step out of your own personal boundaries into a realm of uncertainty. A life that relies mostly on certainty can never be truly happy because life is full of uncertainties. When we feel uncertain we often seek out things to restore our certainty, like when natural disasters occur more people seem to go to church in search of religion.

2) Variety: People like variety. We dont always want to go through the same thing everyday like clock work, we don't like to habituate behaviors or activities because then we not only don't appreciate those things they eventually become just plain boring. Which basically means that those thing don't make us feel like they used to. So, in order to maintain the spice in life we need change, new things, or just something different.

3) Significance: We like to feel important! This need can greatly effect our attitudes, it can either make us very positive or negative in spirit. This need takes work and determination because its not just how other people make us feel. We can feel more significant if we put more effort in things we enjoy. We have to give to gain and that's just how it works.

4) Love and Connection: Many people root this in their families and children as opposed to an intimate lover, Why? Because in family there is a false sense that they wont leave. Love is being able to put someone else before your self and that requires certainty in the other person. This need effects our whole world and our individual ways. Such as living arrangements, work structure and so on. Its sort of built into us, but its different for different people. Some people strive for family, others for a true love mate and some simply gain it from work or hobbies. This need leads into two other smaller needs: Growth and contribution. We all need to grow physically and mentally, its how we learn to handle certain situations and solve problems. It helps us move on from the past and push to a better future. Contribution makes us feel needed and like we have something to give for the better of the whole. This takes some work and determination but its good for your mental state and can help you feel more connected to the world around you.

My conclusion to this is that we all need these things. there is no one step how to book on to ffulfill them, we just do in our own individual ways. These things are what help us go on and live our lives to the fullest we can manage.