Thanks for this, Garreth! I’m glad this resonated. The basic needs sound relatively the same, but my interpretation is that Glasser believes everything is a relatively conscious choice from there? I would argue it’s more intuitive and in dialectic relationship either the environment. Like if a plant is placed in a corner far from the sun it might twist itself in weird directions to get sunlight, just as we will twist ourselves in odd ways for belonging, affirmation, or a sense of autonomy, whether we realize we are twisting or not…and perhaps in ways that don’t feel like they are a choice.

Have you read Deci’s Why We Do What We Do? It’s a good intro, while a bit old at this point, to their 50 years of actual intervention studies that led to the autonomy/competence/relatedness set of social psychological needs. Thanks again for the response — to be discussed further some day!