LIFE AS I KNOW IT
Driven crazy by the actions of others, Harriet Minter learns a bit about the motivation behind the madness…
Do you know what drives you? Recently, I’ve been studying the work of Carl Jung as part of my therapist training, and I’m in a deep-dive into what motivates us as humans.
Jung argues that while we are all driven by the fundamental desire to feel safe, what makes us feel safe can vary. He comes up with a series of archetypes and their needs and behaviours, but it can be broken down on a very basic level to this…
Some of us like to be right. We want to know that we have the answer, that there is a piece of logic or knowledge out there that will unlock any problem, and then we make it our mission to find it.
Others want to be successful. They want to push towards a goal, and are terrified of letting anyone else take charge in case they don’t push as hard, or veer off in another direction.
Some people want to be seen. They want the spotlight to be shone fully on them, so everyone can see and admire their talents.
And, finally, some of us want to belong. I would argue that all of us want to belong, but Jung says that for some of us that desire goes deeper; it drives us towards people-pleasing and appeasement, so that we never have to fear the dislike of others.
Do you recognise yourself in any of these archetypes? I know that I have a strong need to be seen (there’s a r
