Hello, Tony Robbins here. In a moment we will walk through the Six Human Needs that drive all your behaviour, but first, let's realise that whatever we need we have, we develop "vehicles" or "strategies," some of which are empowering to our lives, others which maybe fulfilling to for the moment but in the long term are quite destructive.
For example, to be significant, some people tear others down, some people collect the most toys, some contribute in unique and meaningful ways. The vehicles you select will determine not only your fulfilment in the moment, but also your long term fulfilment and whether you will truly grow and contribute in a significant way. A good means for measuring this is to think about your life's experiences and sort them into one of four classes.
A 'Class 1' experience is something that:
1. feels good
2. is good for you
3. is good for others
4. serves the greater good.
When we find these four criteria in an experience, we usually call it a "peak life experience".
A 'Class 2' experience is some thing that:
1. does not feel good
2. is not good for you
3. is good for others
4. serves the greater good.
These are experiences that we often want to avoid in life but ultimately give us the most joy because they cause us to grow as human beings, and as we master them we become much more fulfilled.
A great secret to be fulfilled is learning how to convert Class experiences into Class 1 experiences, i.e., learning how to take things that don't feel good but are good for you, good for others, and serve the greater good, and make the process of doing them feel good as well.
This is when the tools you'll be learning in this programme on conditioning are worth their weight in gold. When you learn to love those things that improve your life and improve the lives of others, you develop a level of pride, strength, and confidence very few human beings ever experience.
A 'Class 3' experience is something that
1. feels good,
2. is not good for you
3. is not good for others
4. does not serve the greater good
These are those non-productive experiences that we all too often allow ourselves to indulge in. Drinking excess alcohol, could fit into this category. Class 3 experiences provide for the immediate pleasure which, in the long term, destroys people's quality of life and gives them ultimate pain.
A 'Class 4' experience is something that
1. does not fell good
2. is not good for you
3. is not good for others
4. does not serve the greater good.
Why would someone continuously indulge in a Class 4 experience?
Smoking cigarettes the first time, for example was not a pleasurable feeling. But people will often indulge in Class 4 experiences simply because of peer pressure or because of conditioning and old belief systems. You must free yourself of Class 4 experiences to be fulfilled.
All people have the same problems because they all have the same six human needs and those needs are paradoxical: i.e. they seem to be in conflict with one another. Serious problems can arise with when we choose destructive "vehicles" to try to satisfy those needs. Yet we can choose to establish new patterns of fulfilling those needs that will move us rapidly towards life mastery.
All human beings have the need for:
1. Certainty/Comfort
For most people, certainty equals survival. We all need a sense of certainty that we can avoid pain and gain pleasure. Some people try to achieve certainty by trying to control everything around them. This is usually a Class 3 experience i.e. it may feel good for the moment, but it's not for them, and it's not good for those around them, and it doesn't serve the greater good. On the other hand, using your internal courage or faith to achieve certainty would be a Class 1 vehicle.
When your really using your faith, you feel good, what you're doing is good for you, and in a courageous and faith-filled state, you tend also to do things that serve the greater good. Here's the paradox though. When a person becomes totally certain, when things are completely predictable, when you satiate this need, you become b-o-r-e-d. So while we want certainty, we simultaneously want a certain amount of ...
2. Uncertainty/Variety
Everyone needs variety, a surprise, a challenge to feel fully alive and to experience fulfilment. With too much certainty we're bored. Like-wise, with too much variety we become extremely fearful and concerned. We need a degree of certainty in our lives to experience the variety. There's a delicate balance between these two needs that must be struck for us to feel truly fulfilled. Some people choose to get variety, to feel a change in their states or the way they feel by doing drugs or alcohol. Some people do it by watching movies. Others use stimulating conversation and opportunities to learn.
3. Significance
We all have a need for significance, a sense that we are unique in some way, that we have special purpose and meaning for our lives. Again we try to meet this need through destructive vehicles - making ourselves unique by, for example, manufacturing a belief that we're better than everyone else.
Some people become unique by developing extreme problems that set them apart from others. Medical science has now proven that some people have developed the subconscious ability to make themselves ill in order to gain the caring attention of others. This would clearly be a 'Class 4' experience.
Some people develop uniqueness by earning more money, having more toys, going to school and achieving more degrees. Or by dressing in a unique way, having a certain sense of style. Or we can choose to live a live of extraordinary service. This is clearly a 'Class 1' experience, although it may feel like a 'Class 2' at times.
Just remember, we all need to feel unique. But, paradoxically, in order to feel unique, we have to separate ourselves. If we feel totally unique, we feel different and separate, and this violates our need for ...
4. Connection & Love
This includes feeling connected with yourself as well with others with whom you can share your love.
To meet this need, you can join a group or a club that has a positive purpose. Some individuals join a gang for negative purposes but they still achieve the feeling of connection. By aligning with your creator, and feeling like your being guided you can feel immediate connection. Again, some people become ill in order to feel connected and loved. Some people will steal, do drugs, drink excess amounts of alcohol to feel a part of a group and a sense of connection. Others will perform at extraordinary levels in order to be accepted, loved, or connected to a high performance team. A simple thing to remember is, as with all other human needs, if you give consistently that which you wish to receive, you tend to get it back from others.
5. Growth
Growth equals life. On this planet, everything that is alive is either growing or dying. Growth is one of the two primary needs in life. It doesn't matter how much money you have, how many people acknowledge you, what you've achieved in life; unless youfeel like you're growing, you will be unhappy and unfulfilled. But in addition, you must also experience the euphoria of meaningful ...
6. Contribution
We all have a deep need to go beyond ourselves and to live a life that serves the greater good. It is in the moments that we do this that we experience true joy and fulfilment.Contributions are not only made to others but contributing to ourselves is a meaningful action as well, for we cannot give to others what we do not have. A balance of contribution to oneself and others, especially unselfish contribution, is the ultimate secret to the joy that so many people wish to have in their lives.
If there's anything you do that others find difficult but that you love to do (and that you could do for hours), I can promise you it's because you get a tremendous amount of certainty, variety, significance or uniqueness, connection, growth, and/or contribution from this. When we perceive that an action will meet many of our needs, we are driven to take that action.
Likewise, if there's something you avoid doing or are constantly putting of, it's because your current strategy of approaching it causes you to feel a lack of certainty that will have pleasure (maybe you actually have a sense of certainty that it will be painful) or you don't believe it meets any of your other needs.
Anything human beings do can meet all six needs if
they simply change their perception (i.e. what they notice, appreciate or believe) or their strategy (i.e. how they approach getting the job done).
If you find just a few vehicles to meet all six needs, you'll find yourself full of drive and you'll know what to do to achieve your goals. And it all starts with awareness -you must become aware of why you're doing what you're doing now so that you can find a new pattern of fulfilment!
Your Assignment:
1. What's something you love to do? Something you feel compelled to do? Something that's effortless and totally fulfilling? Something you could do 24hrs per day? Describe in the space below, then complete the Human Needs Analysis Chart #1 to see why you feel that way about it.
2. What's something you hate to do? Something that you should do? Something you never get done because you hate it so much? Describe it in the space below, then use the Human Needs Analysis Chart #2 to see why you feel that way about it.
3. Choose something you don't like to do, something that doesn't feel good, but you know is good for you and others, and serves the greater good. Turn this 'Class 2' Experience into a 'Class 1' experience by asking yourself, what could I choose to believe about this that will make it fulfil each of my six human needs at the highest possible level? Write down your answers in this journal as they come to you. Then go out and apply them immediately.
#1 "What is something that I love to do?"
Name Activity/Behaviour
Does ______________________________
Activity/Behaviour
fulfil my need for:
How would I rate (0-10) the level of fulfilment this offers me for this need? How specifically does this meet or fail to meet my need?
1. Certainty/Comfort Yes No
Ability to Avoid Pain (e.g., decrease stress) and Gain pleasure; security, survival
2. Uncertainty/Variety Yes No
Surprise, Diversity, Difference, Challenge, Excitement
3. Significance Yes No
Importance, Uniqueness, Being Needed, Having Purpose or Meaning
4. Connection/Love Yes No
Bonding, Oneness, Sharing Intimacy, Feeling a Part of Unity
5. Growth Yes No
Learning, Changing, Expanding, Stretching, Improving
6. Contribution Yes No
Giving, Helping, Serving, Nurturing, Making a Difference
#2 "What is something I know I should do but dislike or put off?"
Name Activity/Behaviour
Does ______________________________
Activity/Behaviour fulfil my need for:
How would I rate (0-10) the level of fulfilment this offers me for this need?
How specifically does this meet or fail to meet my need?
1. Certainty/Comfort Yes No
Ability to Avoid Pain (e.g., decrease stress) and Gain pleasure; security, survival
2. Uncertainty/Variety Yes No
Surprise, Diversity, Difference, Challenge, Excitement
3. Significance Yes No
Importance, Uniqueness, Being Needed, Having Purpose or Meaning
4. Connection/Love Yes No
Bonding, Oneness, Sharing Intimacy, Feeling a Part of Unity
5. Growth Yes No
Learning, Changing, Expanding, Stretching, Improving
6. Contribution Yes No
Giving, Helping, Serving, Nurturing, Making a Difference
Thank you to Tony Robbins Research for allowing us to publish this article.
Further information is available at:
http://www.anthonyrobbins.com 
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