I was speaking on a panel a few years ago about development. The other panelists were focused on meeting needs such as food and shelter, what we often call “basic needs.” Is emotional intelligence also a basic need? To answer, consider: What happens if people don’t have the skills to make good decisions, to connect with others, to motivate themselves, to solve interpersonal challenges?
Often we consider needs as hierarchal, but maybe needs are actually cyclical, interlocked, or overlapping. Some needs are easy to understand, if you go without any fluids for a day, you know the need for water. But what happens when you go without love, or peace, or self-awareness? It’s less clear, somehow, but perhaps as compelling?
