Mike Foster developed the Primal Question Framework as a means to understand how we present ourselves in the world. The answers we received to these questions during our childhood influence how we view life and relationships as adults. After years of research, workshops, and interviews, Mike narrowed the major life questions we wrestle with down to seven. They are:

Question 1: Am I Safe?

Question 2: Am I Secure?

Question 3: Am I Loved?

Question 4: Am I Wanted?

Question 5: Am I Successful?

Question 6: Am I Good enough?

Question 7: Do I Have a Purpose?

Like most aspects of your identity, your Primal Question was formed in your childhood in the environment you grew up in. Research shows that pre-schoolers, on average, ask hundreds of questions a day. That number decreases as we age, while adults ask an average of 20. Children are curious and hungry for answers, while most adults have lost those characteristics.

During the first five years of life, a child’s brain develops connections faster than at any other time. In these early years, the foundations for identity, behavior, and beliefs about life are established. Your upbringing and background influenced whether you felt loved, safe, or like you belonged. The effect of this is so strong that it ends up defining the way you experience life as an adult.

As a child, you have emotional needs for things like safety, being included, love, purpose, and self-worth. When these core needs are met during childhood by those who care for us, as an adult, you no longer need to ask that question.

However, when your need is not met or the answer to the question is confusing to the child, the answer to the Primal Question registers as no. This experience causes the child to lock onto their unique Primal Question - one they will ask into adulthood, day after day, until it is answered with a yes.

As you look through the questions above, which one do you resonate with? As people, we have all of these core needs, but one of these really drives our behavior. It’s the thing underneath the thing. Other questions may influence your life, but only one is your Primal Question. If you’re unsure, you can take the assessment HERE. After you take the assessment, I will send you a personalized snapshot of your Primal Question results.