The Hierarchy Of Needs Part 4

There are five basic needs that have to be taken care of in life. These basic needs have to be
taken care of in order for anyone to get to a point where they are able to truly express themselves
in life and feel a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment. The four lower level needs are basic daily
survival. Not taking care of these needs will force us to put more energy and time into them than is
necessary. Though the needs are broken down as seperate entities, they are interconnected. Each
higher need is connected to the needs below it, and not properly taking care of a lower need will
cause a need to back track. The five needs are physiological, safety, love/belonging, esteem, and
self-actualization.

The third on the list of needs is love and belonging. At this point, we begin to move into the emotional
levels of the hierarchy of needs. Though the need of security has an emotional basis to it, the level of
love and belonging really is about our emotional connection to other people and the world around us
in general. The need of love and belonging involves frienship, family , and sexual intimacy . These
connections and relationships are what help us feel a sense of belonging in the world. A sense of
need and of identity. Love is also one of the most powerful forces on the planet. Love will cause people
to give up everything they have to take care of someone they love including their life if need be.

Friends and friendship is an important part of the human experience. Humans have gotten to where we
are because of our ability to bond and communicate. By associating with people of like minds, we begin
to feel a sense of belonging to something. Even if that something is just a small group of people we associate
with on a regular basis. Human beings are social creatures. Not having a good network of close friends
will be a huge drain on ones emotional state. Friends can be a catch 22 though. A poor group of friends
will not allow one to grow and develop in a good manner and keep one at their current station in life.
A good group of friends will inspire and lift. They will support their friends as well as help them to chase
their dreams and acquire what it is they are after.

Family is the most important of all connections. These are directly related to our sense of survival. After
all, our family line cannot continue without offspring to carry on our genetic code. This is hard wired into
us, especially for women. Women choose a spouse based on his replication value and will not move
into sexual intimacy until they feel safe, secure, and certain that the man they have chosen will be there
to support them and the child. Men also choose a spouse based on emotional security and replication
value. I know this all sounds like a very scientific approach to attraction, and it goes much deeper than
just basic science, however, learning the psychology behind attraction can help to attract a good spouse.

Love of family is a very powerful force. We have all heard stories of mothers who lift entire cars to save
their children. Or fathers who sacrifice everything for the chance of a better life for his family. Love moves
us to be greater than we are. It inspires us to do more than we thought we could. Love will lift the lowliest
of men to the greatest of positions. Love will cause us to give up our lives if need be. Love can move
anything in it's path, and often does. There is no greater emotion in the human experience than love.
There is no greater feeling than that of being wanted and desired by another person we care deeply for.

Of all the needs, this can be the most powerful of all. Love will cause us to do more to take care of the
two lower needs of security and physiological. Love will inspire us to grow and gain self-realization through
the experience of another person. Though one must be careful. Often times, people will try to rush to love
without having taken care of the lower levels of need. This only creates an unstable relationship that is as
fragile as a powder keg. One small spark in all of the underlying issues and the whole relationship blows up.
Be sure to take care of the lower levels of need before chasing love and belonging prematurely. Also be
sure to surround yourself with friends and family that support you and help you to grow and develop the other
levels of need.

In the next part of this series we will be discussing esteem and how it relates to our success and development
in life. Again, be sure to take an honest evaluation of your current situation and how well you have taken care of
the lower levels of need. Each of these build on one another and support each other. Not maintaining the lower
levels properly will only cause a need to go back and do so until that level is sufficiently taken care of. This takes
time and energy away from the higher levels which can cause them to become shaky and unstable.