Maslow Hierarchy of Needs/Motivations

The classic Maslow hierarchy of needs/instincts illustrates the handful of innate motivations we're all born with and their relative motivational strength. The details can be explained in various ways, but the fundamentals are always the same; Our survival motivations naturally take priority and then beyond survival mode we seek to thrive including building a buffer between ourselves and survival mode. Then we have our emotional, and ego, motivations. In practice, beyond survival mode we're juggling 'safety', 'belonging', 'esteem' simultaneously and they blur into each other/overlap. A promotion, for example, satisfies both safety and esteem/ego needs so they both will 'vote' for that option/path. We just feel purring or clawing, just attraction towards and/or aversion to an option.

At the top we see 'self-actualisation' which, whilst a vague term, clearly involves discriminating between self and non-self motivations. Actualising motivations that aren't ours is obviously self defeating.

On top of these primary motivations we accumulate clusters of secondary motivations which can easily disconnect us from our primary motivations; we're now juggling a lot of motivations, many of which are irrelevant and impeding our ability to successfully manage our actual motivations. We step away for a short time -stop juggling - which returns us to ourselves given our hardwired innate motivations step away with us. Then we just pick up from the discarded pile only what's actually relevant and useful. Now we're juggling much less and only juggling what is actually relevant. 'Magically', we're light, cheerful, flexible and pragmatic. 'Magically', we now select a fruitful path, but it's not magic.

We all have the same handful of hardwired primary motivations - typically called instincts - we're born with. They're with us every step we take so if they're not satisfied, we're not satisfied. If they're not purring, we're not purring. On top of them we accumulate many secondary motivations acquired over time via our culture, schooling etc. These secondary motivations serve, or at least were meant to serve, our primary motivations and if they're no longer doing so then what purpose are they serving? They're just consuming our time and energy, just confusing us and taking up precious space. We didn't select most of them anyway so why not just delete that motivational overgrowth and return to our actual selves? Start acting in our own actual interests instead of being a drone.

“At the centre of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want.” Lao Tzu

How many classes on happiness were you offered in school? Exactly, that’s not their job. Their job is to install the motivations, and capabilities, relevant to getting a job. Fair enough, survival is our first priority and we have to survive, and hopefully thrive, in the world as it is. But what is thriving? The assumption is that by ticking the boxes we’re being programmed to tick happiness will manifest later as some kind of reward. It might do, to one degree or another, but in our current world it increasingly doesn’t and if it doesn’t we might be better off reverse engineering the process. Instead of staying on the long dubious path that we assume will eventually take us to a happy place, we might be better off going directly to that place/ happiness and then worry about the logistics of this life thing we’re experiencing. Now we’re only seeking to tick the relevant boxes and we’re deciding what is relevant for ourselves. Now the cultural mainstream path we were born on is just another option, it’s not all there is.

When the set menu is put down we can now see, and then access, the buffet beyond.

Again, what is a joyless life? What is love without joy in the mix? It makes sense to gain/regain the capacity to experience joy as we’ve then got, beyond survival, what is most important. As joy exists in the absence of cravings we need to minimise our cravings, need to make space for joy to flow into. As we decrease our dependance on one well we increase our capacity to access other wells. If we crave what is in the well we know then that well is all that matters, all there 'is', yet where have those cravings come from? They’re coming from our motivations, but are those motivations ours or just infections, just cuckoos in our nest?

We detox to find out. To return to our core selves and by doing so we’re making space. Cravings exit and joy floods in. Much that was clawing no longer exists, our emotions are getting well nourished and purr contently. Happy days.

We don’t need 20 'cats' to try and satisfy. Herding cats is stressful and tends to be unsuccessful. We already have a few - our innate motivations - and they’re not going anywhere, so best we take care of them. Much easier, and we’ve got time to ‘smell the roses’. We have the capacity to experience joy, to enjoy what is there, but perhaps isn’t there for us currently as our motivational overgrowth is blocking the light.

Of course, once we’re feeling great/ returned to our actual motivations, we still have to survive. Our survival motivations are our priority - all the rest of our bloated 'shopping list' of wants and needs becomes redundant if we're dead. A detox doesn’t deposit a million $$ into our bank account, but at least we might now be working to live, not living to work. At least the bulk of those secondary motivations installed by the culture we happened to be born into are pruned back allowing us to connect with, and then act in our own actual interests. At least we're spending our time and energy ticking relevant boxes and we're defining what's relevant. If we're not acting in our own actual interests, in whose interests are we acting?

We're just trying to survive
What if what we do to survive
Kills the things we love?
Fear's a powerful thing
It'll turn your heart black, you can trust
It'll take your God-filled soul
And fill it with just devils and dust. Springsteen 'Devils and Dust'

Many get trapped in a low level of happiness, or just mediocre level, because they've accumulated too many random, contradictory motivations and/or because they're disconnected from their actual, innate motivations. Thus, no matter which path they choose there's dissatisfaction within; choose path 'A' and those motivations not happy on that path are dissatisfied. Yet, choose path 'B' and the motivations happy on path 'A' are now dissatisfied. Even if we're very competent - tend to be able to extract what we want from the environment - we're doomed to a relatively low level of happiness. Additionally, too many motivations we're simultaneously trying to satisfy generates ugly stress further polluting the cocktail in our cup. Awkward.

The rat traps are filled with soul crusaders
Their circuits lined and jammed with chromed invaders Springsteen 'Night'

The solution? Prune that overgrowth back thereby simplifying our lives and reconnecting us with our actual innate motivations. Thus, we 'kill two birds with one stone'. When we factor in the pruning back allows more light/joy into our emotional core and also injects flexibility into our system we've got another two significant benefits from that same detoxing stone. An investment well worth it.

When we can untangle ourselves from the 'right' recipe/template others programmed into us, we're now able to choose whatever recipe we want - whatever works. We can mix and match. When we can pour our own cocktails why would we pour ourselves anything but delightful ones? The first step is to empty out and experience the difference. When we get that less is more the hard is now easy as we're already got what we ultimately want - a high level of happiness.

To further colour in the model/theory it's useful to look at the worlds oldest, and very effective, motivational detox which is the Vipassana Meditation 10 day course. Useful, as its barebones format allows us to more clearly see the fundamentals involved. By understanding how the VM 10 day detox achieves the impressive results it does we'll have a good enough understanding to know if an emotional detox, of one type or another, is something we want to experience. Here.