What Drives Our Behavior?

What drives our decision to do or not to do something? This is a question I have been contemplating recently and I have yet to come to a desired solution. This is probably because there are a number of factors that drive us in making certain decisions.

Firstly, we must have an interest in the desired topic. There must also be a desirable outcome associated with the initial thought or idea of performing an action. If nothing good was to come from performing a specific behavior, then why bother in the first place? It would just be a waste of time and energy.

Motivation often drives our behaviors, both intrinsically and extrinsically, to reach a specific end point where we obtain peace of mind.

But even before this motivational factor there has to be something giving us this motivational drive to begin with. Classic psychology suggests what I previously mentioned, but that is so surface-level. What is the science behind this phenomenon. What chemicals or hormones drive these antecedents in the first place? How and why does it differ from person-to-person? What exactly drives human behavior?

Image derived from Pixabay

As humans, our fundamental need is a perceived sense of importance. This may be achieved through numerous factors, most importantly social factors such as a sense of social belonging and social contribution.

When and if we are able to achieve this, we feel fulfilled. When it is not, however, we feel the need to compensate for this lack of inner-fulfillment. When our sense of personal significance becomes threatened, we compensate through something known as fight or flight response in an attempt to restore these features.

Fight responses include displays of superiority and power. Displays of superiority include harnessing status symbols or sabotaging others, while displays of power include violent attempts to control or manipulate others. Flight responses include social withdrawal and isolation.

These same processes fuel addiction and mental health issues we see afflicting populations across the globe. In the case of addiction, substance use is a flight response in reaction to emotional pain and suffering. Understanding what drives these specific behaviors helps determine what can be done to cope with the effects. Often times past experiences and an unknit family support network can have a huge impact on these negative behaviors.

This topic spans across a number of disciplines and continued research must be done in this field of study in order to help promote healthy decisions for a better tomorrow and future to come.

What drives your behaviors?