Before we dwell further on the topic, let us do a little ‘reflective assessment’ of ourselves, utilising a assessment process we call as “CAC Assessment Questioner”.

Few suggestions and cautions, while responding to this questioner:

• This CAC assessment questioner has been prepared more from the context of your business / professional / work areas. So keep your business / professional perspective preferences in references while responding to this questioner
• Participants should choose the statement (a or b or c) in each set of statements in the questioner, and choose that best describes them (self). You may find that you may demonstrate almost all the preferences, in different situations, but for the purpose of this exercise please select the most preferred and mostly applicable
• An important aspect of such assessments is that every individual have a predominant characteristics preference, as well as a smaller proportions of the other two characteristics; and thus we may sometimes be demonstrating different characteristics then natural preference due learning, evolution, or situations
• The intent of this questioner is to make participants more aware of their natural preferences, and understand their inner feeling more, and then make conscious choices as how they would wish to evolve

A further background to the research and hypothesis that influenced this assessment narratives stems from the modern day studies e.g. Maslow popular hierarchy of needs rendered “love and belongingness” in the middle of his motivational hierarchy though after basic needs such as food, hunger, safety etc and before Esteem and self-acknowledgement.

This also follows from the Freudian perspective of deriving attachment needs from the relationship to one’s mothers.

Once a child is born this feeling of belongingness transmutes into seeking attachment; to fill this void the child seeks attention through crying or action. In adults, this attention seeking in a way translates either in building relationships (i.e. connections) or feeling powerful (i.e. control) or striving for accomplishment (i.e. attainment) to attract attention.

Even as a child crying was to attract attention through control and action was a way to attract attention through attainment. All to feel the connection for belongingness.

In brief: Belongingness is a fundamental human need to give and receive attention to and from others. This desire is so universal that the need to belong is found across all cultures and different types of people.

Need for Belongingness

Transmutes to Need for Attachment

Transmutes to Need for Attention

Thus Control-Attainment-Connection (CAC) are the most fundamental or the innate characteristics of human beings. All three are present in all human beings and their proportions or what is most prominent in them at a given moment determines who they become. This is an extrapolation though an interpretation from the ancient eastern wisdom philosophy wherein the three Gunas are considered to be most innate characteristics of every human being.