Leadership skills are vitally important.
When a person can lead themselves, they are ready and able to lead others. If we learn about the psychology of basic human needs, then we can more easily answer the question of why people do the things they do and what actually drives them.
But before we “drive” others, we must understand what drives us ourselves. Namely, life will always find a way to fulfill our life needs, even when we are not aware of them. Especially when we are not aware of them.
Fulfilling human needs provides the answer to the question of why some people will sacrifice their own lives for others, while others will do the exact opposite. Knowing this “driving” mechanism is essential in all aspects of life – both in private and business.
Although as human beings we are all unique and special, we share the desire to fulfill the following 6 basic human needs:
1) Security
2) Importance
3) Diversity
4) Relationships/Love
5) Growth
6) Contribution
For each of us, two needs are always more dominant and present than the other four. These two needs are the driving force that pushes us forward in life – it would be good to understand which two needs we are dealing with in our case. Our behavior also arises from the above needs – it is a reflection of our attempts to fulfill these needs. The ways of fulfilling these needs are unique and unlimited. For example, one of the basic needs is Security, which we try to achieve by avoiding pain and creating pleasure. Some individuals will fulfill this need through a desire for constant control over all events in their lives, while others will completely reject control and surrender to faith in something that is more about themselves.
The next example is fulfilling the need for Relevance. In the business world, we will compete with competitors, often without choosing the methods to achieve our goals, while others will fulfill this need by connecting with others around us and contributing in a way that fully fulfills them.
One of the strongest life forces is the desire for fulfillment. Every human being strives for a fulfilled life, one that is imbued with meaning and purpose.
This can ultimately be achieved by fulfilling the two highest human needs:
1) The need for continuous growth
2) The need for contribution that goes beyond ourselves
In the psychology of human needs, these two needs are often called spiritual, and the remaining four are called material needs. Dissatisfaction, emotional emptiness, and instability arise from our inability to consistently fulfill our basic human needs. When attempts to fulfill our needs are unsuccessful, we will generally settle for creating short-term and transient pleasure and comfort. Each person will find a way to fulfill their needs – the only question is whether they will do so in a destructive way or through empowering themselves and others around them. The purpose of knowing the 6 basic human needs is to create new and additional choices – new ways that will fulfill them in the long term and with quality.
Finally, what you may notice is that when fulfilling material needs, the focus is always
on us. Only when we realize the importance of contribution, the focus is no longer on us. The focus is on others.
At that moment, we have taken the first step towards a fulfilled life worth living.
