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We all need a degree of certainty, that our houses will not be repossessed, that we can avoid
the pain and gain more pleasure from our relationships, that our careers will sustain and fulfil us.

The secret lies in getting the right balance in life between certainty and spontaneity. Too much
certainty in any of the key areas of your life, when events become completely predictable,
results in b-o-r-e-d-o-m.

So whilst we strive for absolute certainty in every area of life, if we eventually get it, little wonder
we feel dissatisfied. The injection of a little variety, spontaneous behaviour, surprise and
challenge, help us to feel more fully alive and experience greater fulfilment. Likewise, too much
variety or spontaneity, we become fearful of losing that element of certainty we all need.
It requires a delicate balance to be achieved in the key areas of life for us to feel truly fulfilled.
We need both certainty and variety for us to appreciate both.

2. Self Worth

This is a level 3 Maslow need, but is also affected by other level needs.

We all have a need for high self worth, to feel significant and to experience significance in our
lives. We all want to feel that we are special, that our lives have a real sense of unique purpose
and meaning. There are real ways to achieve this, through creativity and self awareness. Others
choose more destructive, manufactured routes, developing extreme problems related to
health, confidence or self esteem to gain the caring attention of others. This is low self worth, not
significance. There is also the significance that a person, a career, good health and finances
play in your life. When any of these lose or diminish in significance to you, they become less
important and you will seek to replace them.
3. Love & Connection

This comes under level 3 in the Maslow hierarchy.

We humans all need to feel connected with ourselves and others to feel fulfilled and happy in
life. As a whole lecture session is devoted to Love, it is only covered briefly here.

The love and connection we are talking of is not restricted to romantic love but extends to all
human interaction. It is a kind of love to have your work appreciated. Love from and for your
family is an obvious example. Then there is the friendship love with close friends and colleagues.
There is the love of work of certain social, sporting or health pursuits, the love of certain activities
and pastimes. The most obvious is the love of self, without which, no other form of true love will
exist for long.

Suffice to say at this point, that it is a basic human need to love and connect in life, both with
yourself and others.
4. Personal Growth

A level 5 Maslow need.

It is said that everything alive is either growing or dying. Regardless of how much money you
have, how well you are appreciated by others, or what you have acquired, achieved or
accomplished, if you do not feel that you are growing, in a relationship, career or life in general,
you will feel unhappy and unfulfilled.