Random Thoughts on Want and Need

Human motivation is created by wants and needs.

Want and need both signal a deficit, but want is beyond need. Need is core, bones and meat. Want is extra, frills and lace.

Frustrated wants bring on disappointment. Frustrated needs can harm body, mind and soul.

You can live without what you want, but not without what you need.

Wants and needs can feel the same in your body, a yearning that stretches to the limbs.

What we want does not always equal what we need, although either can be demanded and satisfied.

We look more favourably on people who say “I need” than on people who repeatedly say “I want.”

Sometimes we want things that we do not need and need things we do not want.

You can hate or love what you want. You can hate or love what you need.

Losses leave needs in their wake. Gains tend to turn on a want for more acquisition.

Needs and wants can be simple or complex. Opportunity increases the complexity.

It’s soul-enriching to put another’s needs above yours, especially when their happiness is what you want.

It’s good to know what you need, and good to know what you want, and good to go for it.

Doing what you want to do might make you happy, but doing what you need to do will make you fulfilled.

Sexual desire conflates want and need. The want feels like a need. Or is it—the need feels like a want?

Being self-sufficient decreases your vulnerability factor, but we all need love and connection. That is a basic need.

And stories. That is another basic need, right after food, water, shelter and love.