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2023 02 19 How to craft a harmonius life

self-insight ACTValues reflection needs-based-crafting harmonious-life-tool

Idea:
They argue that crafting our life traditionally go around identifying different areas in life, such as: work, relationships, leisure, etc and find a way to function and feel good among all these areas. (1)

This area of thought proposes that doing this tend to stay in the theoretical field, because it is hard to put in practice. That is why they propose to bring up to the center the underlying process: psychological needs satisfaction, and create practices that allow us to identify which are those needs and how can we satisfy them in our day-to-day life. (1)

Types of needs

  • Avoidance needs: e.g., need for relaxation, optimal level of mental stimulation/stress, safety
  • Avoidance-focused crafting: e.g., reducing workload
  • Approach needs: e.g., need for competence
  • Approach-focused crafting: e.g., developing new skills, expanding one ́s work tasks

The (mis)match between crafting motives and efforts reveal when and why crafting efforts may (not)be effective in achieving optimal functioning... our model postulates that crafting efforts are not equally effective in attaining optimal functioning.To be effective, crafting efforts should target unfulfilled needs

We argue that setting up your life in a way that meets your psychological needs (known as needs-based crafting), and doing this across all domains, is what’s important. Psychological needs (we’ll come to what these are shortly) lie at the base of human wellbeing and fulfilment. Needs satisfaction has been linked to successfully fulfilling various life roles, such as parenting, and it may also free new resources to engage in prosocial behaviours, such as helping others, potentially leading to ‘virtuous cycles’. Other studies have shown that people whose needs are fulfilled are more productive and creative at work, more eager to walk the extra mile for their company and help co-workers.
The good news is that neither work nor leisure time must satisfy all your psychological needs. Instead, each role in life you have (eg, experienced foreman, loving husband, caring son, dedicated Red Cross volunteer and avid chess player) plays an important part in an orchestra. Coordination of these different roles, and satisfaction of needs via active engagement in these roles, results in what we call ‘life domain harmony’ – the symphony of your life.

integrative-need-model-crafting-diagram-of-process.png
integrative-need-model-crafting-table-needs-example.png

Sources

Phyche magazine: How to craft a harmonious life
paper: An identity-based integrative needs model of crafting: Crafting within and across life domains. full text of paper

(1) de Bloom J, Vaziri H, Tay L, Kujanpää M. An identity-based integrative needs model of crafting: Crafting within and across life domains. J Appl Psychol. 2020 Dec;105(12):1423-1446. doi: 10.1037/apl0000495. Epub 2020 Mar 23. PMID: 32202815.