Are Your Five Core Needs Being Met?

Human beings are designed with five core needs – five desires of our hearts that must be met for us to live lives of wholeness.

Security – who can I trust?
Identity – who am I?
Belonging – who wants me?
Purpose – why am I alive?
Competence – what do I do well?

Each of those is in their correct order, by the way. If you feel safe and secure, you’ll feel empowered to discover your identity – your deepest passions and strengths. Out of those, you’ll discover your purpose and develop competence.

God intends for us to discover the fullest expression of these needs in Him. Sadly, we often seek to meet these needs through what Dr. Kathy Koch calls “counterfeit solutions,” unhealthy and ungodly choices that inevitably leave us feeling incomplete, broken, and disappointed.

In Matthew 6:33, Jesus says, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”

These are great promises that help us satisfy our five core needs in Christ. Dr. Kathy Koch is our guest on our Focus on the Family Broadcast “Are Your Five Core Needs Being Met?” She explains how to find your security, identity, belonging, purpose, and competence through a relationship with God and with good, godly people.

Hear the program on your local radio station, online, on Apple Podcasts, via Google Podcasts, or take us with you on our free phone app.

I’d like to extend an invitation for you to become a special partner with us through our monthly “Friends of Focus on the Family” program. When you do, I’ll send you a copy of Dr. Koch’s book Five to Thrive: How to Determine if Your Core Needs Are Being Met (and What to Do When They’re Not) as a way of saying thank you for touching others with the love of Christ. To make your pledge, or for more information, visit our website or call 1-800-A-FAMILY (232-6459).

Dr. Kathy Koch is the founder and president of Celebrate Kids. She’s also an author, speaker, educational psychologist, and former teacher. Her passion is to help people experience God’s best in their lives as they think and learn and interact with each other.