From the author: Life crises and recognizing your true needs. As we live our lives, we face crises. In this article we will consider a crisis as the inability to identify your need within yourself and satisfy it. The key criteria in this definition of crisis are two criteria: that it is our internal need and that we ourselves cannot identify it within ourselves. Crisis is an integral part of our lives, accompanying us from the moment of birth until the very end of our lives. The onset of certain crises, such as age-related ones, can be predicted due to their knowledge. What to do with those crises that happen to us, regardless of our age? These may be crises associated with the function of choice. So, choice and our need for something and its implementation, together, they sometimes form insoluble problems. Based on the above, we can imagine a certain typology of crises. 1. I don’t know what I want. A problem associated with blocking the function of recognizing one’s deepest needs through feeling. In this type of crisis, you can think for a very long time about what we really want, but still not understand it. Turning to the cognitive sphere, we can lose sight of the fact that our mind can block our true motivations and the needs hidden underneath them and in their place put surrogates that are understandable to us and acceptable to society. The solution to this crisis lies in turning to our true feelings about this problem and by recognizing our feelings we can decide what we want and what we don’t want. And here we can keep in mind that the sensory choice (the choice of the heart) does not always coincide with the choice of the mind.2. I know what I want, I know how to do it, but it is impossible (or I cannot afford it). The complexity of this crisis lies at the level of the cognitive sphere and is presented in the form of visible or invisible cognitive distortions and ideas based on what some life experience. Most likely, the issue can be resolved by developing a detailed step-by-step strategy for solving the problem, and not by searching for an alternative option. Perhaps the implementation of this idea may be hindered by the fear of making a mistake, the fear of starting to do something at all, or some other unproductive thoughts.3. I know what I want, I know how to do it, but under SUCH conditions I will not do it. Go by principle and not do something just because one element of this chain does not correspond to the life guidelines and ideas of the person doing it. In this case, a question may arise regarding the real significance of this matter to the performer and, perhaps, the search for ways “not to do.” The solution to this crisis lies in the sphere of thoughts that impede the implementation of this matter. Perhaps these will be some life rules that were once relevant, but not relevant now, or outdated stereotypes, or simply an incorrect interpretation of the information received.4. I want two things at the same time, but they are mutually exclusive. The problem of logical choice, when both options can be equally profitable or equally losing. In this case, you turn to your inner feeling and look for which option we actually want to implement. Very often in advisory practice they use the technique of unconscious recognition by tossing a coin and getting one or another option. In this case, the coin is not a measure of our choice or an arbitrator, but just a trigger that brings the need to make a choice closer to us with maximum speed. And very often in such situations the decision is made even before the coin is tossed. All of the above forms of crises that occur in our lives contribute to the quality of our life. And this very quality largely depends on how we get out of these crises, whether we learn to recognize them in time and whether we are ready to solve the next crisis as effectively as this one.