The Assistant

Deep motivation recognizes six different basic needs that control our behaviour through strong feelings, because one of them is essential for survival. Our self-control always stands between the extreme choices of safety or enforcement, belonging or recognition, rationality (knowledge) or emotionality (empathy).

In the ‘assistant’ motivation type, the needs for belonging and safety have the highest priority.

• Safety: We need to perceive and react to dangers in good time.

• Enforcement: We want to grow, survive adventures and develop our abilities.

• Belonging: We cannot and do not want to live alone. We need fellow human beings.

• Recognition: We want to be sensing and be proud of ourselves.

• Rationality: When we do something, we need to recognize the sense and reality of it.

• Empathy: We want to live harmoniously with ourselves and with others.

We can imagine these six different needs as separate forces. They are independent areas of the brain and each of them is responsible for our lives in a special way. We cannot do without any of them. They will wrestle with each other over what is best for us when making important decisions. They take on designer form in our fantasy world. This is how the old legends tell of the strong gods. They sit together at a big table and argue with each other about how we should behave in certain situations.

In the assistant, safety (green) and belonging (yellow) preside over this round.

The two are flanked by orientation needs for knowledge (black - rationality) and empathy (white - emotionality).

The opposite poles sit opposite the leadership duo. Recognition (blue) makes sure that belonging does not give itself up, but preserves its self. Enforcement (red) keeps a watchful eye on safety so that it does not hide in its cave but participates in life.

**The assistant takes care of the well-being of his inner family, because the basic needs, each of them with strong feelings, ensure that we serve them well.

When we are satisfied, there is peaceful cooperation in our inner team. It could look like this:

• Black researches, analyzes situations and ongoing change processes.

• White feels his way into the possible consequences and uses his imagination to develop ideas that will work harmoniously.

• Blue compares and evaluates the alternative courses of action. It strives for a quality of which it can be proud.

• Yellow cares about communication. It wants to adapt and ensure good relations with friends.

• Red wants to take action in certain situations and fight for everything important if necessary.

• Green checks all suggestions from colleagues to see if they involve risks. It wants to avoid danger.

These ‘deities’ in our soul not only have very different goals, but also use different sensory channels.

Green safety wants to be able to grasp and comprehend something. Yellow belonging listens to partners and friends in order to coordinate with them.

Black cognition wants to look at the situation from different perspectives. It uses movements. White empathy wants to empathize. It prefers to close its eyes and activate its waking dreams.

Blue recognition is looking for the best possible solution, which it tends to find in its self-talk. The red need for assertiveness goes through the world with open eyes. It has visions and wants to be able to see opportunities early on.

All personality traits address the conscious mind with dreams, thoughts and feelings. The opposing voices and moods can confuse us as long as we have not aligned these opposites within us towards common goals and paths.

The inner team needs good organization with a reliable distribution of tasks. Our ‘self’ works on this, an inner entity that strives for harmony and for meaningful and healthy self-development.

We are looking for a future scenario that satisfies all six conflicting basic needs and fits the assistant’s personality. The better we succeed in integrating all emotional aspects, i.e. all opposing basic needs, into a project, the more energy we feel for this task.   …