Filling our needs

I remember learning about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs in Psychology at uni. Something about food and shelter, which I translated to souvlakis and Naughton’s Pub.

Tony Robbins has since named six human needs, arguing that deep down we all need certainty and variety, to feel important and part of a community, to contribute and grow.

That all sounds right to me. I think if all those needs were being met, you’d be pretty happy.

One of the prompts in Fat Mum Slim’s photo-a-day challenge over the weekend was ‘What’s something you need? Not want, but need.’ I made the announcement that I would blog every day in September using these prompts. I lied. I’m sorry. We went away for the weekend.

Most of what I thought I needed in my life turned out to be wants; 10 hours of sleep each night (pfft, pre-children belief), new boots, mid-morning coffee, reliable internet… They’re all wants.

But writing? I’m going to add that to Tony Robbins’ list of things I need. In fact, if I was stuck on a deserted island, I’d need food, water, shelter and a notepad.

I did try to post blog entries on the weekend. But at midnight on a tiny phone screen, it didn’t work.

We filled a lot of needs during those couple of days:

1. there was certainty that we’d have fun
2. there were a variety of night caps
3. we felt important (due to effect of point 2)
4. with three families of best friends, we felt part of a community
5. we contributed to solving the world’s problems (see point 2)
6. we grew by trying something new:

I hope you enjoyed your weekend. What’s something you need? Not want, but need.