Empowering Nurses at the Bedside and in Business

The 6 Human Needs

Recently I attended a Tony Robbins seminar.  He is amazing and his presentation was a life-changing event.  In his program, he discussed 6 human needs which may help you understand why you act and react in certain ways, but also why other people act and react in certain ways.

The first need is for certainty.  Certainty is the need to avoid pain.  It is the survival mechanism.  We need certainty to function in our lives.  For example, knowing that when you go out to eat that you won’t get poisoned or, for the males, if you went to a barber for a shave knowing that you won’t get your throat slit. This requires certainty.

The second need is variety.  We get bored very easily.  Variety creates excitement, adventure and aliveness.

Third is significance.  We need to feel significant by our family, our children or by our friends.  It’s a sense of belonging.

The 4th need is love and connection.  We are a society.  We don’t live isolated in caves.  We love the companionship of friends and family.  We want to feel loved and give love.

Number 5 is growth.  In order to be fulfilled, you must be growing.  If you’re not growing … you’re dying.  If a relationship is not growing, it is dying.  If you are not growing in your life and your personal development, you are dying.

The last need is contribution.  Contribution gives your life meaning.  When you contribute to another person or to a cause outside of yourself, it makes you feel good.

What I think is so interesting about these 6 human needs is 1 of these human needs is your primary driver.  For me, I enjoy variety, growth, love and connection.  I’m not sure which need is more important.  However, what I do find interesting is looking at people in my life and determining what their primary driver is.  It allows me to relate better to people.

For patients, when you’re taking care of patients, certainty is probably their primary driver at the time.  They want to be certain that their surgery will go okay, the pain will be relieved or they will be discharged from the hospital.

Think of these drivers that next time you are talking to people and see what their primary driver is.  Then it may be easier to relate to them.

What do you think about this?  I would love to hear your comments below.

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