How To Get Satisfaction

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We each give our own meaning to life. Some of us may be unaware of what drives us onwards, or what holds us back, while others are yet busy questing for answers. I propose a method of gaining satisfaction out of your life, through the identification of emotions & needs, and the apparent conflicts that arise between them and your behavior.

This idea is presented in three short parts, each a necessary logical step on the way to culmination.

Part I            -  Priorities Among Emotions.
Part II           -  Unidentified Emotions & Needs.
Part III          -  Mismatching Behaviors and Emotions.
Conclusion    -  How to Plan for Your Needs!

We can all recognize that some emotions take precedence over other emotions, or needs, at any given time. While this is a fluctuating phenomenon, its' patterns can be identified and described very well. For example, a hungry person who is exhausted and needs sleep, may feel a greater need for sleep than for feeding, and so will retire to bed.

However,  we are not always able to clearly identify the emotions that most strongly direct us. And so, a person may feel tired, and even though they had planned on going directly to bed previously, find themselves guzzling down hamburgers at the kitchen table, at a very late hour.

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This mismatch between the behavior that person expected - being tired and thus going to sleep, and actually going to eat greedily, tells us that it is likely that they were simply unaware of their accumulating hunger, until they had finally reached their home. When the choice between food or sleep presented itself, the stronger emotion ruled the hour. The price to pay is in being unprepared for this turn of events, sleeping late, and even sleeping heavy.

Through this process of identifying such patterns, that person is then able to meditate on the conflict in needs - find out which emotions and needs were actually in conflict, and plan a future strategy to avoid the repercussions. Such strategy may be as simple as eating something earlier, or getting back home earlier. It is a process of trial and error, yet the solutions are usually simple, when we know ourselves, and then choose for ourselves, for best results.

Much thanks go to my friend Vins, who had spent several long hours today debating this topic with me, and negotiating how best to represent it in an orderly & thinker-friendly manner. :-)