In the Emoenergetica model, need is defined as the state in which a system is in at the moment when, on the one hand, it is still within a band of equilibrium but, on the other hand, the inertias present are pushing it towards a band of lower energy and greater imbalance. Need is the prelude to all problems.
Problems are states in which the system is in a situation of blockage, loss and wear; in other words, when it is in an unstable band. Once a problem appears, if it is not solved, it will, in turn, generate new needs that will have to be repeatedly met so that they do not become new problems and so on. Problems decrease symmetry and increase entropy in systems.
Needs can be met, and problems must be solved. Both are the drivers of changes in state and energy levels – for better or for worse – in any system, and most especially in living systems.
In the field of human psychology, needs and problems must activate interest. This is the precursor of behaviour, being in itself a form of motivation and a central pillar in the process of selection of objectives. It is essential to have an interest in meeting needs and solving problems. However, this is not always the case. Errors of the mind can intensify interest in what is negative or unnecessary, and disinterest in what is essential.
From the point of view of performance, there are two types of needs: essential and perverse.
Essential or true needs are those that when properly met allow the person to maintain balance and energy. A part of the needs that arise on a daily basis are due to the permanent state of movement in which we and the Universe find ourselves. Inevitably, this mutability leads to a certain amount of wear and imbalances (increased entropy), sometimes in a predictable way and sometimes not. The appearance of essential needs is a natural phenomenon that aims to encourage the individual to seek and use resources, choose strategies and implement actions aimed at the conservation and improvement of the assets already held (body, mind, life, knowledge) by means of the appropriate meeting of the need (maintenance and increase of symmetry).
The other type of needs that may appear are false or perverse needs. These can be caused by mistakes made, either during evaluation processes (those that determine what is needed and what is not, what is beneficial or what is harmful), or through resolution processes (those that have managed previous problems inappropriately, through error or incapacity), or also through perversion in the decision-making mechanism (choosing to execute actions or taking positions that, instead of compensating existing imbalances, amplify them or simply encourage the appearance of new problems).
Needs are a state that is prone to instability and are therefore always met, in one way or another, without exception. Nature does not allow the perpetuation of states of absolute imbalance. When an essential need is adequately met, growth, renewal and continuity are generated. When a perverse need is met by following the inertia it causes, the result is more disorder, loss and wear. That is why the most basic way to get rid of perverse needs is usually to let them starve to death, that is, the right way to compensate for them is to restrain them. When an essential need is not met in time, it automatically meets itself, thus becoming a problem.
For example, if we were a vase and someone threw us to the ground, on impact there is a moment in which we would have an urgent need to counteract the blow by distributing the enormous amount of energy that is being absorbed in the process throughout our structure (to meet a need through an available strategy). As this option is insufficient due to our limitations as a vase (we are not able to incorporate new learning), we would break into a thousand pieces (problem), losing structure and functions (we are no longer a vase and can no longer hold flowers). Even so, a moment later, the pieces would rest on the ground in a state of perfect balance (in a lower energy band). Problem solved, but not for the vase. We, like the vase, have natural limitations, but we have exceptional abilities: we can decide thanks to the complexity-symmetry achieved in our evolution as a species and as individuals, and this gives us the potential capacity to make adaptations and learn to solve a good part of the challenges facing us.
If the need is properly met, the system gains useful energy with regard to that which was available in the state of need. In addition, it sometimes incorporates new learning, which means not only an increase in useful energy, but also in structure and functions (improvement of skills and symmetry). If the system makes a detrimental compensation, then it will lose energy, increase entropy and generate new needs and problems, eventually decreasing in functions and structures (loss of symmetry and drop in energy level). Every perverse need has an enormous inertia to move towards harmful compensations, because it is the result of previous unresolved problems that are feeding both the need and its inertia. Therefore, in many cases it is necessary to solve other problems previous to that which is attracting our attention (real solution located two or more steps away). Any need whose positive compensation leads to the avoidance of problems and an increase in the symmetry of the system or its functional (usable) energy is an essential need. An essential need can be incorrectly met due to errors or inadequacies in the strategies or behaviours applied. It is also possible, in an indirect way, to compensate positively for a perverse need by stopping feeding it while solving the previous problems it was nourished by.
As we have seen, needs and problems are the two main precursors of change. There is a third category of these dynamizers: opportunities. From time to time, an individual is presented with options for evolution or improvement whose rejection does not imply an objective loss, but rather, a potential loss. It is sometimes difficult to predict whether the opportunity that presents itself is really worth the effort. The fact is, however, that these kinds of opportunities appear in our lives either randomly or as a logical consequence of all our previous actions. Likewise, in the process of accepting the opportunity or not, we will have to give momentum to the interest or leave it behind.
From an emotional point of view, there are two types of interest: painful and pleasurable.
Pleasurable interest is an automatism that is nourished by the feeling of connection, desire or motivation, in other words, it is stimulated by love, recreation and joy. Pleasurable interest easily tilts the selection of objectives and decision-making towards the options to which it points, since it has its own will. In Emoenergetica, this type of interest is also called sensitive interest, because the person usually thinks or says: "I feel that this is what I want or desire to do”. Pleasurable interest can point to good choices, but it can also point to pernicious behaviours that would increase needs and problems.
Painful interest must be nourished by the conscious and voluntary intervention of the individual, through manifestation in the form of effort, which is necessary in order to overcome the resistances that appear when doing unrewarding work, which is, nonetheless, required in order to meet needs and solve the problems that are present. Persistence (the ability to withstand the pressure perceived through the motive force) will generate at least a certain amount of motivation and hope that will help one to focus on the possibility of future returns, the fruits of our labour. In Emoenergetica, this interest is also called volitional interest, since the individual must choose to nourish it, since – as it does not have its own will – it does not easily grow in an automatic manner.
In any case, it is necessary for you to be interested in adequately meeting your essential needs (those that offer balance and growth) and in solving existing problems, regardless of whether or not you make the right choices. In this way you will increase your chances of success, learning and personal evolution – both horizontally and vertically. You will have to use your degree of freedom appropriately, crushing perverse inertia over and over again, being impeccable.
Sometimes it can be difficult to identify what to do or where to start, especially if one feels, at any given time, overwhelmed by accumulated active problems, whether these have been inherited or personally acquired. However, all of us are aware, at the very least, of a few things that we are doing wrong. To stop doing them is a first step that allows us to gain (or stop losing) some of the vital and emotional energy we need to move forward. And, step by step, we will discover, in an increasingly efficient way, what the real needs and problems to be solved are, as well as the way in which to do it – we are learning machines. No matter how many problems there are, you can only take one step at a time, so choose the right direction! Moving forward requires both interest and will, and the latter is achieved not at the beginning but at the end. In addition to being useful in handling day-to-day issues, understanding this is key to both healing processes and the development of consciousness.
The distance between what you know you have to do and what you really do is called cowardice. The most common disguises for cowardice are excuses and complaints. A wise person is an individual who knows where to invest and what to put aside, what to do with effort and time, or what is just a useless habit, who to surround oneself with and who to get away from. Though wisdom without courage is useless.
Find your opportunity www.emoenergetica.com
Need and Interest by Chema Sanz is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.