satisfypictures

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Can we always find something to satisfy all the pictures in our heads? Why or why not?

-- dennyphillips (rule62dap@comcast.net), June 14, 2003

Answers

No, we may not be able to satisfy virtually any of our pictures if for example we become sick, unemployed, imprisoned, if our spouse leaves us if someone really close to us dies, if we live in a land ruled by a tyrant. Normally we can satisfy most of our needs and the pictures we build to satisfy our needs are usually pretty efficient; but,if we persist in holding on to a picture that we just cannot achieve then life will not be pleasant.For example if someone who is just not academic is driven to spend his life trying to get a ph.d that he just has no chance of getting ?/

-- ken lyons (kenlyon@gofree.indigio.ie), June 14, 2003.

To preface my entry, I must assume that you are referring to Quality World pictures/items. These to me these items represent things, activities and states of being we choose to meet our needs. Meaning, when I use this thing/do this activity/or be this way, I have Fun, Power, Freedom, and/or Love & Belonging. It is not the pictures we satisfy. The pictures represent need gratifiers.

These things, activities, and states of being can meet one need, two needs, three needs, or in some cases meet all four psychological needs. When explaining this idea to my students, I indicate that our Quality World items vary in effectiveness. I use an analogy involving a Happy Meal and a giant rollercoaster. The Happy Meal certainly is fun, but pales when compared to the fun to had on a giant rollercoaster. Most of our lives are made of Happy Meals, sprinkled with an occasional giant rollercoaster, i.e., yearly family vacation, yearly fishing trip, college graduation. But for the most part, we exist on Happy Meals, i.e., good movie, watching children's sports endeavors, reading a good book, etc.

In the end I encourage our students to "Go for it," meaning acquire things, do activities, and be ways that greatly gratify a single need or find a few activities that meet all needs. Utilizing Barnes Boffey's Transition Questions, I have been able to develop an activity during which students identify potential Quality World items (or Future Quality World items), determine which need they might meet, and rate each potential Quality World item as to its effectiveness.

During this activity, our students quickly list things, activities they want or ways they'd like to be. The power is in the fact that they list anything coming to mind, big and little, minor and major, because if it even is considered in this mindset, it is something they want. After achieving a sizable list, they are to decide if they item is on their list for Fun, Power, Freedom, and/or Love & Belonging. In fact, they rate each item using a 1-10 scale. They then add up to achieve a total. At the end of this activity, I encourage our students to carefully put these lists away and re-examine them when they are older. Do this items still represent need gratification? Did they accomplish any of the items? Do they still want to pursue any of them?

Hey, if my response doesn't fit the question, my apologies. The first days of school tend to do this. . . . TD

-- Ted Donato (tdonato@toppenish.wednet.edu), September 04, 2003.


Denny,

One of the most provacative (and profound) books I have ever read about your excellent question is Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning. When imprisoned in a concentration camp, Frankl was served soup and bread, and he realized he had five choices around the piece of bread. (I realize I am writing you from memory and I hope this is accurate): he could eat it all at once and have a feast, he could parcel it into three portions and spread out the meal, he could give it away and feel good about himself, he could trade it for cigarettes,.... etc., etc. He created pictures to meet his freedom needs (and invented logotherapy). It's been my experience that creative people can come up with different pictures to meet needs. What do you think?

-- suzy hallock-bannigan (suzyatdonegal@aol.com), September 16, 2003.


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