The secret power of addictions

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JohnPhoto2“The quality of our lives is determined by the quality of our addictions.” John Elrick

Human needs psychology poses the model that every human being has six core needs. Tony Robbins believes that we become addicted to any belief or action which satisfies three or more of these needs at a high level.

Now, there isn’t any distinction here as to whether the “addiction” is positive or negative, empowering or disempowering. You can be addicted to visiting people in a nursing home to support them. You can be addicted to helping your family. You can be addicted to making yourself a better person through learning.

Of course, you can also be addicted to heroin, or self-loathing, or blaming. You can be addicted to finding security through chocolate or finding significance through violence. All addiction means is that your brain is being rewarded by dopamine and that reward mechanism makes it more likely you’ll repeat the action either consciously or unconsciously.

All of these leads to my latest epiphany — that the quality of our lives is determined by the quality of our addictions. We can take control of our addictions and associate disempowering addictions with pain and then add empowering addictions that help make our life better and more fulfilling. The choice is ours. All it requires is that one decision that we are no longer satisfied with not being in charge of our own lives.