Why People Do The Things They Do?

Is it just me, or does it seem that the smarter technology gets.. the crazier the world becomes!

2023. What a crazy, chaotic, crisis-filled year so far - and it is only May! It seems that if people haven't already lost it.. they are about to:

In issue 46, I wrote: 'No doubt in my mind that A.I. will elevate the correlation of soft skills and mental health to unprecedented levels of importance. Gotta explore this.'

Soft skills: defn. investopedia - 'Soft skills are behavioral and interpersonal skills that relate to how effectively people interact with others and handle situations.'

Mental health: defn. World Health Organization - 'Mental health is a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community.'

Just seems to me that, as the world seems to get crazier & crazier, and people seem to get sillier & sillier, to the point of doing blatantly 'stupid' things, that it is probably a good idea to get back to basics first and review some influential contributors' thoughts on why people do the things they do.

After all, sooner or later, we are probably going to want to align with PEOPLE to get into business, or to change the state of affairs in our local communities, countries.. and in the world. So, we'd better get to be able to analyze, pretty quickly, whether we will be aligning with 'crazies' or not.

In thinking about this topic, we should not underestimate the immense power of the SMARTPHONE in influencing people to do the things they do, as highlighted by this parody video: Hotel California Parody Song - Phone Zombies . Just love the play on the old line: 'We are all just prisoners here of our own device".

Clearly, as converse to the above negative addictive influence portrayed, a key idea to pursue is how to utilize the smartphone to influence people for the doing of good things that will positively impact the world.

So, what motivates people to do the things they do? Think about it. If we can understand what motivates people who we want to interact with, do business with, or to lead people to make a significant collective consensus decision (as in a political decision to change the status quo), perhaps we can utilize that information to motivate them to take the action that we'd like them to take.

Abraham Maslow it was who first shared his ideas in a 1943 academic paper - "A Theory of Human Motivation" - where he proposed a hierarchy of needs that people wanted to achieve in a specific priority order from BASIC physiological needs (1) and security needs(2), then on to PSYCHOLOGICAL needs of belongingness & love (3) and self-esteem needs (4), and on to SELF-FULFILMENT needs of self-actualization (5).

Extra Reading: The 5 Levels of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and How they Affect Your Life

Maslow later added three further levels to the original five levels. The first of these being cognitive needs: the need for knowledge, exploration, education, and meaning - CURIOSITY. The second being aesthetic needs: the appreciation of beauty and form; music, art, literature, and other creative expressions - CREATIVITY. The third being transcendence needs: altruistically helping others to achieve self-actualization - 'Maslow believed that humans are driven to look beyond the physical self in search of meaning. Helping others, practicing spirituality, and connecting with nature' [The Expanded Hierarchy of Needs ]?- CONTENTMENT & BEYOND.

Tony Robbins posits Six Human Needs that drive us to do the things we do. He moves from the basic need for..

1. Certainty - 'the need to avoid pain and ideally find some comfort', to..
2. Variety - paradoxically - 'Our passion is found in the realm of uncertainty, or variety. Variety creates excitement for us. That’s what adventure is. It makes us feel alive. And we need surprises in our lives, because that’s what helps us grow', to..
3. Significance - 'We all have the need to feel that our lives are significant – that our lives are important, unique and in some way special', to..
4. Love & Connection - 'Why do people do what they do? Throughout history, the answer has been love. People find connection through friendship, sports or community. Other people get it through pets or art. Some?prefer?meditation or by being in nature. Some can get it through their faith and through prayer', to..
5. Growth - 'If you're not growing, you're dying. There is no such thing as a plateau or a comfortable, even place. If your relationship is not growing, it is dying. If your business is not growing, it’s dying', and finally to..
6. Contribution - 'Contribution will give your life meaning. When we give beyond ourselves, we live in a world of abundance and compassion. The secret to living is giving. When is the last time you have contributed freely to another person or a cause outside of yourself?'

Just love this well-considered article by intrepid adventurer, cross-ocean rower, and mountaineer (multiple Everest summits) - Grant Axe Rawlinson - What makes people do the things they do? And what makes people not do the things they want to?do? - an excellent read:

Extract: 'We have established that emotion is the main driver which makes people do the things they do or NOT do the things they WANT to do.'

'BUT!?It appears this is the case ONLY WHEN THEY ARE ACTING IN THEIR PERSONAL CAPACITY WITH REGARD TO THINGS THAT AFFECT THEM PERSONALLY.??When it comes to someone making a decision on behalf of someone else, the situation is reversed.?Then LOGICAL factors become more?influential?and outweigh the emotional drivers.'

Extract: 'To test my theory on other human beings I conducted a simple survey on Facebook. I asked the following very basic question: “What makes people do what they do? And what makes people not do what they want to do? Can anyone sum up in one word the answer to this question? Below is a summary of the answers:

'Fear,?Pleasure,?Money,?Mana (pride),?Motivation,?Universe,?Self belief,?Faith,?Genes,?Beer,?Life,?Experience,?Environment, Priorities,?Confidence,?Belief,?Nature , Circumstances,?Self-interest,?Curiosity, passion, hunger, knowledge, confidence, competitiveness, belief,?Purpose,?Negativity, Positivity, Willingness, Alchohol,?Commitment,?Love, Instinct, Inspiration, Attitude, Determination

'I conclude that the reason we do the things we do and NOT do the things we WANT to do is mainly influenced by emotional drivers.?This is so when the?circumstances?directly affect us. Logical drivers play a secondary role.'

'By understanding what emotional drivers affect ourselves and others, we can begin to understand what motivates people to do things.'

'The most important attribute in achieving your personal goal or dream is tons of emotion.?Emotion will give you the motivation, courage,?commitment?and self-belief you require.?The logical reasons will give you the excuses not to do it.'

Steve D. in - The Five Reasons People Do Things - writes: '..between the angst and suffering of a decade, I pumped a huge amount of time, money and effort into studying the science of motivation and job satisfaction. I got a good lens to understand what motivates people, and it helped me understand myself and what I’m good and why I do things which is hugely important in making the decision/s you have to make every day of your life.'

'Expensive and wide-spanning research apparently discovered there are five basic reasons why people do jobs. And here they are:

1. Money. Plain old money. Which is about lifestyle. We will take a job to suit our?desired lifestyle.
2. The Environment. The perks. This is for people who don’t care what they do if they can chat to their friends as they do it. It’s also for people who do a job because the whole town does it or their father did it, or because it’s out in the open air or by the sea side or up in a plane. It’s about the environment around the job.
3. The Prestige. Prestige is not the same as fame. Fame is a lottery, prestige is something which is assured and bankable and has social capital. People who are on TV and such get this, but so do important folk like doctors and lawyers. Prestige can be a big pull for artists even if they can kick the drug of fame, it’s about being known as a craftsman in your field.
4. The Meaning. This is about what the job does, how it effects the world.
5. The Task Itself.

Ii is also pertinent to highlight this insight from Zig Ziglar’s excellent sales book - Secrets of Closing the Sale - “Every sale has five basic obstacles: no need, no money, no hurry, no desire, no trust. A successful salesperson knows how to overcome all five.”

Perhaps Zig succinctly captured why most do not do things.. in general:

• No need
• No money
• No hurry
• No desire
• No trust

Zig Ziglar was very much a soft-skills protagonist. Many years ago, I wrote in - Follow This Man And We'll See You At The Top - how Zig 'went out to learn what it takes to make a difference in people’s lives, and changed his life in the process of passing this information on to others. The basis of his research is founded on the statement by psychologist Dr William James, who said,?“The most important discovery of our time is the realization that we can alter our lives by altering our attitudes.”

In the above article link , I shared how - 'Through his many books and tape recordings he tries to convey this personal message to the reader and listener:

“You, (insert your name here) _________ , are rare; you’re special, unique and important. You can make a difference in the lives of other people. Over ten billion people have walked the earth, but there is not now, there never has been, and there never will be another one quite like you. Your voice pattern is different from any other voice on earth; your fingerprints are different; your very genes leave their trail of identifying marks completely different from any human being who has ever lived. You’re a special individual. Develop your uniqueness; apply it by utilizing the principles we’ve been discussing, and make a real effort to be a difference maker in other lives.” - Zig Ziglar

I smile as I consider how the above input must have added in no small measure to the stimulation of the idea for the development WISDOMS? DifferenceMakers??- read this link for detailed project info: Positive IMPACT. What YOU can do NOW to influence the next 1000 years.. and beyond! ?- in this link we share our mission, manifesto, collaboration objectives, and provide a sample snapshot of our background & resources.

Zig also believed that one '..cannot separate personal, family, and business life. What happens at home will affect your performance at work, and what happens at work will have a definite impact on relationships at home.

'So just how can the ordinary person become more pleasant in their relationships with family and friends, especially after a tough day at work? And, how can one become more pleasant and acceptable at work after a particularly trying week-end at home? We’ve all asked this question of ourselves in some way or other.

'Zig believes the answer is simple but not easy:?“You cannot control the circumstances in your life, but there are many things you can do to control your mental attitude as you deal with those circumstances!”

“You begin by understanding this: You are what you are and where you are because of what has gone into your mind, and you can change what you are and where you are by changing what goes into your mind. In short, you choose what you read, listen to, and view”.

'What Zig means is that you are right now experiencing results in your life that are a direct result of all the information that has gone into your mind. If you are not happy with the way your life has gone, or is currently going, then you have the power to change the input that goes into your mind.

'He understands that many people are so angry with their present situation that they look to blame others for the misery and problems they’ve suffered in their lifetime.'?

I began this article with my thought from issue 46: 'No doubt in my mind that A.I. will elevate the correlation of soft skills and mental health to unprecedented levels of importance.'

I can recall that it wasn't even 30/40 years ago, in the late 1980s & 1990s, that soft skills, life skills, mental health & wellness programs took some real hard-selling to gain traction in corporates, schools and tertiary training institutions.

By the 2000s, soft-skills such as communication, teamwork, leadership, critical thinking, problem-solving, and emotional intelligence, were being recognized as critical for success in both academic and professional contexts.

Our team at WISDOMS ??were all involved at the cutting edge of these developments, which background, research & experience have all been incorporated into our?6 Pillars of WISDOMS? ?&?WISDOMS? DifferenceMaker? ?programs.. and in our search for a key influencer in each city Unique. Rare. 1 In A Million. Become No.1 DifferenceMaker? in YOUR city.

I conclude with the belief that A.I. will leapfrog us into a future of deep analysis of tons of data into human behavior. As AI takes over more routine and repetitive tasks, social intelligence will become even more important for jobs that involve working with other people.

More attention is likely to be focused on the impact of stress, burnout, and other mental health issues on productivity and well-being. AI will help identify patterns and trends in mental health data, which can be used to develop interventions and support systems for individuals and organizations.

Emotion, in this article/issue being identified as a primary driver of why people do the things they do, will see the development of AI tools that can analyze and interpret emotions. Emotion recognition technology is projected to help identify and address issues related to mental health, as well as provide insights into how people are feeling and behaving in different situations.

Soft skills and mental health are also becoming more important in the hiring process, with many employers looking for candidates who possess strong communication, teamwork, and problem-solving skills, as well as emotional intelligence and resilience. As AI is used more frequently to screen job candidates, it will become even more important to develop and demonstrate these soft skills.

For the ENTREPRENEUR, this article link just forwarded to me, is worth reading: How A.I. will change the face of entrepreneurship in 2024 . The writer's concluding remark is a great stimulation for our next issue, he writes: "The one place AI can't help you (yet) is coming up with an original big idea that can change the world." Let's see if that is true - next issue.. ;-)

If you're new to us it is recommended that you read issue 1:?One Idea is All it Takes

About:?Trevor Nel is an 'ideas-generating machine' and co-founder of?WISDOMS ?. You can connect with WISDOMS? and become: 1. a?PATRON ?and/or; 2. a?PLAYER ?, and/or; 3. a?PARTNER ?- follow each link for more info.

Next week:?issue 48 - We explore the view that Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) is one of the most significant breakthroughs in humankind.. EVER! And, note this warning: 'Humans that learn how to use AI are gonna just absolutely smash humans that rebel against it and don't use it.' ?

Trevor Nel?is author of?One Idea Is All It Takes ?and numerous publications & articles, including :

1. Another GREAT Day in Africa!
2. Confessions of a SERIAL Entrepreneur
3. Here's How To Be Well-Prepared For YOUR Cycles Of Success
4. Here's How YOU Can Make A Meaningful Difference In Other People's Lives
5. COMRADES Marathon: Metaphor For The Marathon Of Life
6. Riding the wild, wild River Of Life
7. Life Lessons Learnt as a Dusi Rat
8. Some simple life lessons learnt from 50 Midmar Miles