In this second part of a miniseries on the words we say to ourselves that create tension and distress, today’s word is “Need.” Today we talk about:

• The psychological theories of needs, which are in fact theories of human motivation.
• Byron Katie’s radical approach to needs.
• The fallacy of speaking in terms of absolute needs.
• How to use the word “need” in a relative context.

Practice

• Semantic Method — replacing “need” with “It would be nice if…” or “I would prefer it if…” and remembering that the use of the word “need” implies the subordinating conjunction “in order to” (relative contextualization).

See Also

1. A theory of human motivation (1943), by Abraham Maslow
2. Self-Determination Theory (2008), by Edward Deci & Richard Ryan
3. Loving What Is (2001), by Byron Katie

Music: Night on the Docks - Sax by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4129-night-on-the-docks---sax
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/