by Dave Ward | Charge the Summit

Most people fundamentally misunderstand motivation. They come to me – or to Tony Robbins in the video below – and want ME to motivate THEM. I can’t. It’s impossible. I can’t motivate you. Tony Robbins can’t motivate you. Only YOU can motivate YOU.

Now, what I can do is inspire you. I can show you the way. I can give you tools [this website is one of them]. I can talk to you about what works and what doesn’t. But, ultimately, your motivation has to come from within.

I believe that motivation requires a deep emotional connection to the needs you are trying to fulfill and an unwavering commitment to satisfying those needs. I’ve listed Tony’s 6 Fundamental Needs below this video. I suggest you take some time to see how those fit into your life.

Tony Robbins’ 6 Fundamental Needs

If this resonates with you, take some time and go through this list and figure out how you are satisfying these needs in your life. That might just propel you to find the deep emotional connection that is required to motivate yourself.

Needs of the Personality

• Certainty/Comfort – Security makes us comfortable. What will make you feel secure? Relationships? Money? What is it you need here?
• Variety/Uncertainty – Surprise keeps us interested. I hate this one. I really do, but I’ve learned not to ignore it. I mainly do that through sport and travel. I ride my bike all over the place because it fills this gap. What do you need to shake up in your life?
• Significance – Feeling important is fundamental. See below for how this is also a need of the spirit. How are you unique and different?
• Connection/Love – You must have emotional connections with other people. Not all of those connections need to be romantic. How will you satisfy this need?

Needs of the Spirit

• Growth – Are you growing? Are you changing? How? Beyond watching this video, what else are you doing to change yourself?  Are you writing down the answers to these questions or are you resisting change?
• Contribute Beyond Yourself – What is the impact you have on other people? Is it positive? How do you give to other people and make their lives better? I have found this to be one of the biggest needs in my life. Once I found a way to satisfy it, I could not stop. What are you going to do?