We judge whether or not we’re being punished or rewarded by life’s events based on our
needs, beliefs and habitual emotions. The mind has to decipher: Is this the end or is this the
beginning? Should I be angry about this situation, or should I be excited?
Unlocking the three forces that are moving you through life unconsciously, and redirecting these
influences consciously, could change your life dramatically, eliminate pain, avoid unnecessary
difficulties and give you more joy than you can imagine.
1. The Driving Force: The 6 Human Needs
Although we all have different Blueprints, different beliefs about different things, and can respond
with different emotions to the same event, one thing we have in common is that we all have the
same 6 Human Needs.
To review briefly from Personal Power, the 6 Human Needs are:
1. Certainty: to be comfortable, avoid pain and have some
level of consistency.
2. Uncertainty: we need variety and change to feel alive.
3. Significance: the need to feel unique, special and important.
4. Love and Connection: to give and receive affection
and support from others.
5. Growth: to become more, break through stagnation.
We either grow or die.
6. Contribution: to give beyond ourselves.
Although every single person has the same 6 Human Needs, not everybody places the same
importance on the same needs. If you put more emphasis on certainty, you’re going to look at life
completely differently than if you think the center of life is contribution.
Focusing more on any of the 6 Human Needs than the others is neither right nor wrong, but that
focus will either create different opportunities and different problems, depending on where you are
in your current Life Conditions. If you emphasize significance, giving it priority in your Blueprint
may cause a conflict in the area of love and connection.
Additionally, the greater the difference is between your Life Conditions and your Blueprint, the
greater the difference will be in your pleasure or satisfaction with the areas that you value most.
If you can pinpoint which needs you value most in practice—that is, which needs you strive to fulfill
operationally in your everyday actions—and the needs you truly value most but may not consciously
strive for, you can then close the gap and match your Blueprint with your Life Conditions.
2. The Guiding Force: Map of Meaning and Action
Think of your belief system like a map. Your beliefs tell you how you get from where you are to
where you want to be. Or you might think there’s a rule that says, “I’ve got to create the kind of
relationship where there is always unconditional love,” or “I have to be aggressive, funny, giving,” etc.
We have a map or rulebook in our unconscious mind that guides us in how to meet our needs and
hit our targets. This becomes the way we think we need to be in order to get what we want.
If one of your top two needs is love, learning to value another need more doesn’t mean that you
don’t want love, or shouldn’t want it. But if your focus is, How can I GIVE love (which can meet the
needs for significance, growth or contribution) instead of How do I GET love, you literally change
the direction and, ultimately, the destination of your relationship or your life.
3. The Fuel of Choice: Habitual Emotions
Whatever it is you say you really want, whether you really get there or not is all going to come down
to the habit of emotion you get into most. If your habit of emotion is frustration, feeling like a failure
or feeling like you’re not enough, that’s what you’ll unconsciously act out. However, if the habit
of emotion you have is one of passion, determination, courage or playfulness, you’ve got a chance
of getting the results you want.
Have you ever known someone who always finds a way to get upset or somebody who’s not really
funny—but they think they are—and you find yourself laughing anyway because they’re having such
a good time laughing at their own joke?
There’s a center of gravity emotionally that you come back to on a regular basis—in your relationship,
in your career or with your kids or partner. You can make a billion dollars, but if the primary emotion
that you feel all day long is frustration, boredom or fear, your life will be one of frustration, boredom
and fear. The emotions we live with day to day control the quality of our life more than anything else.
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