Needs VS. Wants

in #psychology7 years ago

This is going to be a stream of thought post for sure and I blame Steemit. :)

Lately I have been thinking about needs versus wants in the grand scheme of things and how we define it. Honestly needs are probably less than what we realize. I am beginning to believe we have conditioned needs. Think about it: The drug or sex addict has a "need" that you don't. It isn't air or water or food but to his/her mind it has become a need and therefore goes past the area of want. So this opens up the idea and thought of if needs can be wrong. Or maybe can needs be bad.

So let's follow this logic. If the drug or sex addict has formed a "need" that you or I did not have and that is not universal then does it not become a need? If this person has come to point where their body requires this to survive in some functioning state then has it passed over to the area of need? If we keep following this logic then this makes needs subjective. No longer are they objective to all humans but they have become subjective to that persons makeup.

Needs As Subjective

This is starting to sound a little out there. But we have just blurred the line of need and want by adding in mental or psychological changes that impact how a person works and survives. If someone is in a mental state to where their needs change then it is subjective.

What To Do With Wants...

If needs can have a gray area then they can bleed over into wants. But what if wants have a pull to where they change and determine your thought process and attitude and quality of life? Does it become a need? Well...no. Because the basis of a need would be survival, right? Maybe. Or maybe the basis of a need is a certain quality of life and anything subjective to meet that lifestyle becomes a need.

I think we can see why needs and wants can be so confusing... 🤔

wants-vs-needs.jpg

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I think i have always put needs as a thing to survive and wants as a thing to make survival more interesting.

Im a smoker "trying to quit" i dont need to smoke and i dont want to smoke. So why do i smoke?

Very interesting post, needs vs wants is something that a lot of people are yet to learn. I see a bunch of young people every day make horrible decisions because they think the wants that they have are truly needs. very interesting! keep up the good content!

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