17 Mar Needs vs Wants
A lot of people’s struggles often boil down to them confusing their needs vs their wants. Putting a majority of their time and energy into getting their wants while neglecting their needs. This is a recipe for disaster, unhappiness, and feeling unfulfilled. Let’s take a look at needs vs wants and gain some clarity on how to refocus our attention to things that provide a lasting positive investment for our lives.
Needs vs Wants: Telling The Difference
The easiest way to tell the difference between needs and wants is the basis of how they come about in our minds. Needs are things in which we need to survive and live. Wants are not, they are desires. Needs always add to our lives in a positive manner, wants may or may not be positive in the long run.
The difference also lies in the catalyst for the need or want. Needs are simply facts of life, often similar to other humans, and provided by life itself ie Safety, Shelter, Food, Water, Warmth. Wants however are not dictated by life itself or objectively the same in everyone else. They are often rooted in our own insecurities, pain, boredom, lust, or ego which are different from person to person. Wants are sparked by how we feel in that particular moment and situation.
Logic vs Emotion
Put simply, needs are logical and wants are emotional. This doesn’t mean that all emotional desires are bad, but when we put them before our logical needs for life, that’s when things become problematic. A good example is wanting a fancy new car, when your current car works fine, and you’re underwater on your mortgage payments or rent. It’s putting the cart before the horse due to emotional desires, neglecting your logical responsibilities for a necessary need—shelter.
This is why you’ll often still feel unfulfilled after receiving your wants, because they were based in an emotional and emotions are temporary. You have a temporary rush of excitement and happiness after getting your want, but it soon wears off after the emotions settle and then you’re off trying to chase a new want. The want desire is your crack fueled fix for your emotions, and it always leave you wanting more.
Prioritizing Like An Adult
The best strategy for successfully balancing your needs and your wants is to approach it as a mature adult. Take care of your needs first, then address your wants after, responsibly. Pay your bills, show up for your job, take care of yourself, take care of your family. Do all these and other needs first before even thinking about pursuing a want. Often times you’ll find that after your needs are taken care of (if you have gratitude) you may not even want anything else. Adults do what needs to be done, children focus only on doing what they want.
Balance Is The Goal
You’re human, so you’re not going to be perfect at balancing your needs and wants, and that’s okay. It’s about pushing to become better and more responsible at taking care of your needs (vegetables) before pursuing your wants (dessert). Push to become better at each day. Explore and learn your habits to discover new things about yourself that can positively add to your life. The next time you’re confused on your needs vs your wants, just think, is this a logical need or an emotional want? You may find it interesting as to which motivator leads your life most.
The Tribe is a collective of individuals committed to growth, wisdom, and connection with other like minds. We don’t follow trends—we live by truth, self improvement, and action.
GI Griffin is an Advisor, founding member of The Tribe, and host of the GI SAID IT show. His diverse experience in business advising, mentorship, and self improvement has shaped his unique perspective delivered in a style that is unapologetically honest, straight to the point, and at times a bit brutal. Brutally honest, no BS.
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