Wants and needs?

Question:We all have wants. We all have needs. For example, do I want or need to finish my education? I was brought up to put my needs before my wants. As I grow, I am beginning to wonder if fullfilling our wants, within reason, is nessisary to ensure happiness. If we are happy then we can fullfill our needs with more ease. Right?

I understand priorities in life. I also understand the potential dangers of letting frivilous desires or wants overpower our priorities.

I WANT to know people's opinions on desire, temptation, responsiblity, and survival.

It's not a need. lol

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: We all have wants. We all have needs. For example, do I want or need to finish my education? I was brought up to put my needs before my wants. As I grow, I am beginning to wonder if fullfilling our wants, within reason, is nessisary to ensure happiness. If we are happy then we can fullfill our needs with more ease. Right?

I understand priorities in life. I also understand the potential dangers of letting frivilous desires or wants overpower our priorities.

I WANT to know people's opinions on desire, temptation, responsiblity, and survival.

It's not a need. lol

You are clearly on your way to solving one of the fundamental problems of life. Thumbs up to you. Now you need to conquer by postponing immediate gratification for later long-term fulfillment. Peace, my sister. Nurture strength of spirit always.

we must live to have what we need, and need only what we have!

don't know what your getting at but i didn't get my GED till after i was forty

My wants and needs often conflict with one another.
I NEED to do my homework, but I WANT to answer questions on Y! Answers right now. I also want food. I think I'm gonna go get some fast food.

I have a lot of desires, am easily tempted, irresponsible, and have little will to survive (as you can see plainly, as I'm about to go eat fast food).

i suppose that we have differences but you can make all the things you want into the things that you need so this is a very trick question.

I think one of the biggest problems facing modern America is the failure to prioritize as you suggest you do.

When people get "I need a car" confused with "I want a NEW LUXURY car," they are likely to go into debt (or more debt than required) for what they see not as a want, but as a need.

We didn't get into the sub-prime mess because we needed housing. We got into it because we wanted housing we couldn't really afford, but by saying we were filling a basic need, we felt justified by the debts that left us "upside-down" in the mortgage.

I WANT to say I like this question. In fact, I said it. Thanks.

Okay. This is a great question that many people struggle with but few actually address.

In my opinion, you do have to fulfill some of your wants in order to complete your needs. Reasoning behind this. If you don't fulfill some of your wants you wont fulfill your needs because you will simply become "UNMOTIVATED" to do even the basics of life. Thanks about people who are depressed. They sit and do absolutely nothing most of the time. They say they have an emptiness on the inside. It's because they are not doing what they "WANT" to do.

My opinion on desire:- Desire is something that we were born with. Even when a person say, "I have no desire. I just want to die." They are still expressing a "desire". Their desire is to die. This is a want.

Temptation: Temptation and desire goes hand in hand. They are both wants.

Responsibility: This is a want. And a decision. Some people never take responsibility while others do. This is a want and not a need as you can live without it.

Survival: A need. It is automatically in us to survive. When we get hungry, we eat and drink. When there is a drastic situation, we kick into flight or fight mode which is a form of survival. So this would be need. This is something we cant change.

I hope this helps.

God Bless!

We all have our physical priorities. The standard world wide is shelter, food, clothing. Then we have our spiritual needs, life, love, family, friends. These are pretty well the basics. Our education is always assured by the parents, this is in the family, we go as far as they can take us then continue a formal education or we teach ourselves. We are educated and educate ourselves in the matters of love, social responsibilities, elementary schooling, and the morals we learn and adopt.
These are the basics.
A brand new car every five years, the latest technological tool, televisions and i-pods, these are luxuries that we can do without, but with credit or savings we procure what we want. But what we need is food, shelter, clothing, family friends and the love of them all.

We all need to survive. For this, we must have food, water, air, and safety ( included in safety, shelter from the elements). All else is a want. Happiness, in any form, is a want.

Temptation is the child of desire. Any frivolities can be desires. A new dress, a new car, new shoes..... if we lack the funds to pay for such objects, they can form temptations....The ability to do wrong in order to get the "goods".

But even Temptation must answer to Responsibility, be it moral or legal.

Example..... if one wanted a new car, and lacked sufficient funds or a bank note to pay for said car, one might be tempted to steal it. Besides the legal ramifications of stealing a car- a felony where I come from- one also risks the loss of any hope of moral redemption.... it is not worth the risk to my moral way of thinking.

funny you should ask... I have always felt that making yourself happy helps you make better decisions about everything that you do. It can make any situation better and easier to cope with. I believe that if you must sacrifice a little to make yourself happy, you should do it. Not to mention that what you need will eventually come to you anyway... As a matter of fact, what are your REAL needs? I think money is a REAL need as well as food and water. Besides that, there really arent very much needs... You dont really NEED to have a boyfriend, and you really dont NEED to procreate but you do both because you want. You really dont NEED education to succeed in life but it's good to have it... For instance... Abraham Lincoln wasnt an educated person, yet he accomplished so much in his time that people will forever know the name... you see, it's all about making yourself happy NO MATTER WHAT!! You will never meet anyone who is willing to sacrifice anything for you... (DONT believe them if they say it) so you NEED to make yourself happy first.

now THAT'S a true need!!

Good luck and God bless!!

that is thought provoking but i am sorry i have only read it 10 times and i have not really soaked it in yet. Too bad i was not asked this 25 years ago i would have had a quick answer for you and been sure about it. now at 45 the best i can do is say our biggest job is weighting : Needs,desires temptations vs responsibilities. Survival or satisfaction.
being a coward I ran away to a place where all you have to do is worry about survival. everything else is just gravy