Sunday 14 August 2011

"Needs" versus "Wants"


                         What is the difference between needs and wants? Different people from different parts of the world have different opinions of 'needs and wants'. One of main differences between needs and wants is that needs refers to a general desire,while wants refers to a specific desire. Need is something that is essential and very important. Everyone has needs but the views on needs are quite different according to their conditions. For instance,the needs of people from poverty is totally different from that of rich people in terms of basic needs which are food,water and the place they live in. The word 'wants' is slightly different from 'needs'. The dictionary states this as a desire or you posses to do. As stated by the Maslow's hierarchy of needs,'needs' can be distinguish into five categories such as physiological,safety,belongingness,esteem and self-actualization. 

                          Physiological needs may also known as basic needs which include food,water,sleep,excretion,breathing and so on. We need them to be survive in life. Imagine not having any food,we will be suffer from starvation. Likewise,we cannot live without 'water'. Thousands have lived without love, not one without water. (W. H. AudenFirst Things First) This shows that we cannot alive without water although we can live without love. Therefore,those all physiological needs are the most necessary things for our bodies and life.

                         The second type of needs,safety needs can refer to both psychological and physical needs. The basic need for this level is the security which concerns with body,employment,resources,morality,family,health and property. This sort of need basically means that people are not only satisfy with their incomes but also with their psychological senses of security. Health is one of the important part in safety needs. Having a poor health leads to physical disadvantage to normal procedure and strain. 

                         Love and belonging,natural desire that everyone needs it. As we are human beings,we do want to feel belonged,appreciated and loved for a once in life. This can be happen in all age groups. As an example,young children want the attention from their parents. When they reach to teenagers,they try to find out the attention of the opposite gender. During the age of majority,they want love and kind from their beloved grandchildren and younger ones. There is no one who don't need belongingness.

                        Another kind of needs is the esteem needs which can be define as the needs of respect and admiration in the form of profession or academic achievement,or wealth or confidence in proficiency. Most people want respect from their colleagues to gain their happiness. Without esteem,they may be pale with the exhaustion.

                        Many psychologists are convinced that self-actualization needs is the desire to achieve one's full potential. Maslow's hierarchy of needs states this needs as the final level. Many people want to fulfill their dreams. Thus,they need cognitive needs of problem solving and creativity,philosophical needs such as acceptance,motivation,being an ideal parent,leaving a meaningful legacy and many others.

                       All in All,these six needs are the most important essential needs in our life. We cannot be live throughout the life without them. As mentioned above,the differentiate between needs and wants is noticeable. Everyone have different needs and different ideas of needs. Hence,we can be classify that needs is the vital  and wants is  the aspiration.

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