Getting Your Needs Met Part 4: How to Communicate Your Needs

by | Apr 17, 2013 | Boundaries, Relationships, Self-Help

We’ve been pondering needs for a few weeks now. We’ve looked at what needs are as well as the value of knowing who you are in determining your own needs. Now we have arrived at the conclusion: the art of communicating your needs in a way that increases the likelihood of getting your needs met. There are no guarantees this will happen. The reality is we can do everything right and still end up with an unmet need. There are ways we can communicate our needs that will pretty much guarantee the need will not get met. Speaking your need at a time when the listener is otherwise occupied, exhausted, or unavailable as well as bombarding the potential “need meeter” with eight different requests all at once will not result in a met need.
As discussed in Part 1, the needs I am highlighting are linked to enhanced relational connection. In a way, having your needs met increases your level of bonding in the relationship. I like to think of expressed needs as giving the other person in the relationship a way he can “win” with you. We typically want to be good to the people we are in relationship with; speaking your needs helps him know specifics which you consider good. Another note, the needs we are talking about are not literal life and death needs. You may think of them as wants or desires. That’s fine. The point is without these elements being met, the connection in the relationship is compromised. It may be minor and not a big deal to you or it may be a major compromise in which you begin to question the health of the relationship. If you need your friend to keep what you say in confidence and he shares your information with others, it’s best not to invest too much of yourself in the relationship. If your wife doesn’t want to work out a budget with you, your relationship is likely to be hurt but you won’t divorce her over it.
Remember, speaking a need is not demanding something of the other person. It is giving her an opportunity to connect with you. If she chooses not to, you are responsible for how you deal with the disappointment. Not getting things we want or need is part of life. You may choose to meet your need yourself or find a friend who can help.  Getting nasty or demanding about your needs is not acceptable, healthy, adult behavior; nor is seeking to fill a legitimate need illegitimately. For instance, if your husband is not connecting with you at an emotional level, it is not ok to have an affair to get the need met. Put the rejected need through a filter. Is this need something that you must have in order to feel safe or connected? Then evaluate the relationship. Suggest joint counseling to the person if the relationship is legally bound or important to you. Give the person time to learn how important this need is to you. If the person still refuses to meet your need, you may need to draw a boundary around this, clearly stating what you are ok with and what it means for the health and future of the relationship if the person refuses to change.
Here are a few examples of how to speak a need:
I am feeling sad. I need a hug. Will you give me a hug?
We have been so busy lately and I am feeling less connection between us. I would really like to spend time with you; can we set something up that will work for both of our schedules?
I need to feel your touch. Would you be willing to hold me or sit close to me?
I’m confused about where our money is going. I need clarity regarding our finances. Would you work out a budget with me?
We have been so focused on finishing this project. I would like to spend time just hanging out. Would you be up for having a work-free lunch?
I need down time. Would you be ok if I just veg in front of the TV for a half an hour?
These are just a few examples. Notice I put a question in each of those phrases, an opportunity for the other person to say no. Be prepared for the rejection! I know I said this once already, but the best way to get a need met is if we are adult about it. Maybe a bit after the “no” the other person will realize she is being a schmuck and will come back with a “yes.” If you’re in a healthy adult state (as opposed to the child-like pouty state) you are much more likely to welcome the delayed yes. This will set the stage for continued growth and more needs being met. Another point, those who are willing to meet the healthy, legitimate needs of others are more likely to have their own needs met. 🙂

Getting Your Needs Met Part 2: What Are Needs?

by | Apr 5, 2013 | Boundaries, Relationships, Self-Help

OK, I know it’s been a few weeks since my last post…I’m one of those people who has big dreams, limited follow through and poor organization…but that’s for another post. Back to needs!
I think the best place to start with the topic of needs would be: What are they? Some may say all we need is air, water, food and shelter. If we are merely talking about physical survival that is true. It starts to get a bit more complicated as we look at the deeper layers of what it means to be human. Research has shown that emotional and physical connection with others are as important to surviving and thriving as the basic life sustaining ingredients of air, water, food and shelter. So now the list of needs may read: air, water, food, shelter, emotional connection and physical connection with other human beings. The additions raise some questions. What kind of emotional and physical connection with human beings is necessary for survival? Prisoners in concentration camps had physical and emotional connections with human beings which resulted in death. No, those don’t count. We need certain kinds of connection with others. Connections that breathe life, hope, and healing into us. What does that look like for you?  Just as each of us is unique, so are our needs.  There may be some similarities from person to person, but there is not a one-size-fits-all when it comes to needs.  What works for one person may not work for another.
I want to create a bridge here between needs based on mere survival to needs that enhance the quality of our lives and relationships.  The latter are the type of needs we will focus on for the remainder of this series of blogs on needs.  First we’ve established basic needs for survival.  Now we will look at how those needs manifest themselves in our relationships.  Although we can survive without some of our relational needs being met, we are not truly thriving or reaching our full potential.  I can live without touch in my marriage, but the quality of my connection with my husband plummets when a hug, handhold or some sort of body to body contact are non-existent.  There is something about this type of non-sexual physical connection through touch that increases the intimacy in our relationship.  On the opposite side, one of my daughters does not enjoy very much physical contact.  Hugs are seldom given or received.  She needs me to sit and connect with her verbally.  She wants me to listen to her, to interact with her through conversation.  That is how she experiences an increase in intimacy with people.
Mmmm…I’m hearing something about my use of intimacy.  I’m not using it with any sexual reference.  Intimacy in this case refers to deeply knowing and connecting with another person.  It’s the space in relationships where we let our guard down.  I feel safe with the other person and allow her in to the secret, well protected parts of my heart.  Because she is safe, I allow myself to be fully exposed in the relationship.  Typically this type of connection is two-way.
Now to you.  What are your needs in relationships?  What elements are necessary for you to connect and feel connected to another person?  Is it touch, verbal connection, spending time together?  There are many needs, not just the few I’ve pointed out.  Each of us also has more than one need in relationships. We’ll delve into our individual needs more in the next part but for now, begin to simmer in understanding what your needs are.