May 082012
I was speaking on a panel a few years ago about development. The other panelists were focused on meeting needs such as food and shelter, what we often call “basic needs.” Is emotional intelligence also a basic need? To answer, consider: What happens if people don’t have the skills to make good decisions, to connect with others, to motivate themselves, to solve interpersonal challenges?
Often we consider needs as hierarchal, but maybe needs are actually cyclical, interlocked, or overlapping. Some needs are easy to understand, if you go without any fluids for a day, you know the need for water. But what happens when you go without love, or peace, or self-awareness? It’s less clear, somehow, but perhaps as compelling?
Joshua Freedman
Joshua is one of the world’s preeminent experts on developing emotional intelligence to improve performance. With warmth and authenticity, he translates leading-edge science into practical, applicable terms that improve the quality of workplace relationships to unlock enduring success. Joshua leads the world’s largest network of emotional intelligence practitioners and researchers.See 250 more posts by Joshua Freedman
What a beautiful post. I’m reminded of babies who cry even after being fed, burped, and changed. They are telling us that they simply need to be held and to “feel” loved. It is indeed the most basic human need.
Thanks Keyuri – in case you didn’t come back to the site to see it, there’s a cool reply to your comment from Dr. Johan Pienaar — the cry as a call for connection.
Somewhere I learnt that Love has a spectrum ……which begins with simple “Touch” and ends with “Compassion”. In both cases, it is one of the strongest needs. Compassion attends to Emotional Security of the Humanity.
Thanks for the wonderful Post.
Thanks Datta – I like both points:
- Feelings vary in intensity
- Compassion supports a feeling of emotional safety
Hope all is well with you!
- Josh
Hi, from a restive but beautiful South Africa. When I read the comment by Keyuri I remembered our Professor in Philosophy saying: “The first cry of a baby after birth is not biological or even neorological, it is the baby’s way of saying – Here I am, where are you?”
Max Neef has identified nine basic needs, and they are interrelated. The old heirarchical model is just that, an old model that got us all thinking.
I’ve found a simple diagram at: http://www.holocene.net/sustainability/human_needs.htm and here is a wiki link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundamental_human_needs
Very intriguing diagram and good food for thought! Thanks for sharing this Rosemarie.
To be compassionate is nice , but Compassion is definitely a need…..