Page 50 - Talane Miedaner - Coach Yourself to a New Career_ 7 Steps to Reinventing Your Professional Life (2010)

38 COACH YOURSELF TO A NEW CAREER

you are doing something that you shouldn’t be doing (as you stuff
that second chocolate doughnut into your mouth) and yet feel
compelled to do it anyway. Such is the power of our unmet needs.
The reality is that most people can’t even articulate what it is they
need. Rather than try to tackle the addictive behavior, it is much
more productive to tackle the hidden need that is driving it. More
often than not, the behavior is then easy to stop. You can’t get
enough chocolate doughnuts if your real need is to be cherished.
You can never get enough of what you don’t really need.
You’ll probably feel mightily inclined to skip this section of the
book. Most people resist the personal requirements exercises with
every fiber of their being. That’s why I’ve made it as straightforward
as possible for you to identify your top four personal requirements
with the following quiz. Skip this section at your own risk: your
needs only get worse when you deny or ignore them. Fulfill them
and they handily disappear.
The easiest way to find out what your personal and emotional
needs are is to take the Personal Requirements Quiz at Lifecoach
.com, and it will tell you what your top four needs are. Write down
your results, as the site won’t remember what your answers are or
who you are. If you don’t have convenient access to a computer,
then you can take the quiz with the paper-and-pencil version here.
You’ll have to devote a few extra minutes to tot up your score.

Personal Requirements Quiz

Instructions: For each of the scenarios that follow, if the situation rings
true for you, check the corresponding need that most resonates with you.
You are looking for the underlying need that drives the behavior. If the
scenario isn’t true for you or wouldn’t apply to you, just skip it and move
on to the next one. Similarly, if the scenario is true for you, but none of
the needs listed sounds right, then skip it. You will probably skip quite a
few that don’t apply. On the other hand, don’t worry if you have checked
quite a few; that is perfectly normal, as we all have needs—some more
than others. If you aren’t sure about a question, ask a friend or family
member who knows you well for an expert opinion.