[weareunity]

Hello all. Suggestions. A personal general overview concerning the need for a sense of personal significance and how meeting that need motivates behaviour.

I think a certain measure of a sense of personal significance is needed by humans--and maybe by other species--for emotional, mental and physical wellbeing.

I suggest that the "natural" way for this to be established within the psychological make up of a person is through wise loving nurture in infancy by parents, carers, kin and society.

However, if this process does not happen "naturally", or does not happen "naturally" to the measure required for some reason, then the mind concerned will attempt to find that necessary sense of personal significance by alternative means and methods.

Both
(1) The reason(s) why that "natural" process may not happen,
and also
(2) The variety of means and methods which may be chosen in an attempt to answer the need,
are areas of considerable study of themselves I imagine.

If there are other readers who find the suggestions above sufficiently valid to pursue, it would be interesting(?) to explore (1) and (2) above to see if doing so will help to answer the question posed by LoneFlower in the opening post.
cheers. petex