Anthony Robbin's 6 Core Human Needs - Tip for Coaches

Anthony Robbins intimates that peoples' behavior is ideally driven to meet the needs that are most important to them, more so the top 2 needs.

This behavior can be negative or positive. Either way, these people are moving towards meeting these distinctive needs.

Our goal in self improvement is, of course, to focus on positive ways to meet these human needs.

• The need for Certainty
• The need for Uncertainty (Variety/Adventure)
• The need for Love and Connection
• The need for Growth
• The need for Significance
• The need for Contribution

"It is in the moments of our decisions, that our destiny is shaped" -- Anthony Robbins

Using Robbins’ six core needs as a benchmark to illustrate this concept, we will now briefly examine each of the six needs and look at the way people generally try to meet them. It should be noted that these six needs can also be closely mapped to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

Certainty is the first basic need and is simply about achieving order and control in life. Its chief function is to ensure an element of security and it is manifested in safety and physical comfort. Those of us with a deep need for certainty do our best to avoid chaos and unexpected.

However, the desire for both chaos and uncertainty make variety the second core need we all share. It is a physical and emotional need that encourages us to bring the new, surprise, stimulation, the unknown and sometimes disorderly into our lives.

The third need we have is that of significance. It drives us to assert ourselves as individuals, look out for our own interests and put our own ego at the fore. To satisfy this need we find ways to feel important, unique or special and prove our self-worth, and can sometimes be judgmental of others.

The need for connection is represented by the human desire to communicate with, relate to and receive love from those around us. We are motivated to share and develop relationships with people to meet this need in our lives.

Through personal development and learning we fulfill the need for growth in our lives. This core need is what impels us to mature and evolve as human beings.

Finally, we all share the need for contribution, which is manifested in our desire to serve those around us and give love rather than simply receiving it. Contribution is about sharing what we have with others.

The amount of each of these core needs we invest in will shape our choices and actions. All of us are influenced and motivated by a combination of each of these six needs. The challenge we are confronted with on a daily basis is how to identify which needs are dominant in our lives and what environments, situations and people we function best in and around to meet those needs.

Someone who wants lots of certainty and control for example, is going to make different decisions to someone who enjoys and values variety. What types of job choices would they be attracted to? Who would they want to spend time with? How would they communicate?

Someone who values and needs lots of significance will make vastly different decisions to someone who values connection and love.

We all want these needs fulfilled in everything we do – it’s how we meet these needs that can shape our lives. Connection can be achieved through smoking – we connect with ourselves and with other smokers. Connection can also be met through friendships, reading, deep breathing, exercise… how we meet this need will absolutely shape the quality of our life.

The final two needs determine our level of happiness – growth and contribution is where we truly come to know what we are capable of, and gives us a sense of fulfillment. The less we grow and contribute, the less happy we will feel. The more we grow and contribute, the happier we feel.

We coach someone who needs tones of certainty and avoids growing and contributing. What quality of life do they have? What choices do they make? How do they communicate? What do they notice?

Because these six needs have such an important influence in our decision making process, as a coach, we often have the opportunity to guide people through these career or life changes and help them take a closer look at what really motive them. Having identified their dominant needs, we can create and develop a strategy to ensure those needs will be met in a new environment or future situation.

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