The Five Synergies is a framework for helping communities create emergent happiness. Each synergy represents a basic psychological need that is important for well-being. Instead of calling these “needs,” however, the term “synergy” is used to encourage a shift in perspective.
What is a Synergy?
A synergy occurs when well-being and fulfillment are pursued on behalf of everyone involved. This pursuit of well-being happens through efforts both within each person and beyond them in the outside world. In essence, when we seek the highest good for all by improving circumstances and/or our own thoughts and skills (whatever is necessary and feasible), we start to see synergies.
As an example, consider the psychological need for empowerment. In the Five Synergies framework, empowerment is the first synergy and encompasses our psychological needs for control, ability, influence, freedom, security and predictability. If one person claims power over others through bullying and cruelty, their need for empowerment has been met. As a result, they may experience limited happiness, but others suffer. Over time, the bully loses power. The well-being of the family, group, or community as a whole is ultimately worse off. In contrast, when each person’s need for empowerment is met in healthy ways aimed at the highest good, the synergy of empowerment has been created. The well-being of all involved is improved or safeguarded. One person may experience more power than others for a time, but the purpose would be to uplift all involved, not to climb on the backs of others.
At the core of this concept is the bird’s eye view, or seeing situations from multiple perspectives. Our usual tendency is to ask, in every situation, “How can I meet my need? How can I get what I want? How can I be happy?” This perspective puts oneself at the center and all others on the outside. The idea of synergies is to look at basic emotional needs and the desire for happiness as a collective, group experience. What if we asked instead, “How can everyone’s needs be met without bringing harm to anyone? How can we all get what we want? How can we all be happy?”
Important Characteristics of Synergies
The concept of synergy as it relates to happiness and emotional needs, has the following qualities:
Emphasis on What’s Practical
First, although synergies express a utopian ideal in which everyone’s needs are met, and everyone experiences happiness, the emphasis is on what is possible, feasible, or reasonable. In any given situation or setting, the Five Synergies framework encourages individuals to choose whatever actions they can take for the greatest good. We can imagine how we want the world to be, but in this present moment, our task is simply to do what is possible and move toward that vision. Simply holding this vision and choosing to move toward it has an interesting side effect—it can become a source of happiness in itself.
Psychological Needs are Valid and Honored
In the field of psychology, psychological needs have received some attention, but the predominant focus has been on internal causes of happiness (e.g., positive thinking, emotional intelligence, resilience, neurotransmitters). This focus has encouraged a tendency to reject outside influences on happiness, particularly the role that we play in the happiness of others. Likewise, in certain spiritual traditions, there’s a tendency to reject worldly needs, whether they be physical or psychological. The concept of synergies, however, honors our physical and psychological needs.
It’s Not About Sacrifice
The idea that we play a role in the happiness of others (and vice versa) suggests that a certain level of self-sacrifice is expected for the greater good. Of course, this is tied to a world of powerful emotions, attitudes, values, and cultural norms. Creating a synergy does not necessarily require sacrifice or being a martyr. The highest good includes the well-being of oneself. A mother who harms her own health, for example, in order to ensure that her teenager never experiences disappointment, is probably not working for the highest good, though that may be her intention. Disappointments can catalyze positive personal developments, and children benefit from the good health of their parents.
No Center, No Margins
The individual may not be at the center of their happiness universe, but they are not on the outskirts either. Every person’s needs are considered equally important, and meeting each person’s needs is governed by what’s possible or practical, not because one person has more value than another.
Empathy is at the Helm
In the pursuit of emergent happiness, empathy is central. To achieve synergy requires putting oneself in others’ shoes. Ideally, this shift in perspective allows the individuals to become consciously aware of their group-level identity.