Seven Drives Explorer
Every choice has a tension. Recognition. Resources. Closeness. What matters most can shift with the situation. Explore each drive before discovering the patterns in your own choices.
These are introductions, not findings about you.
Explore the Seven Drives Pride
Recognition & Self-Definition “Do I still get to define who I am?”
Constructive expression Knowing your worth, standing behind your abilities and principles, and asking for credit where it is genuinely due.
Imbalance risk The need to prove yourself can become so strong that collaboration, compromise, or asking for help begins to feel like losing status. Confidence, leadership, and accurate credit are not automatically Pride.
Read the field guide Greed
Resource Control “How much do I need to keep within my control?”
Constructive expression Planning ahead, preserving options, and turning limited resources into longer-term security.
Imbalance risk When security feels uncertain, gaining or holding more can begin to feel like the only safe answer. Keeping what is lawfully yours or meeting survival needs alone is not Greed.
Read the field guide Lust
Attraction & Closeness “How close do I want to get?”
Constructive expression Acknowledging attraction, building closeness, and expressing relational needs honestly.
Imbalance risk The desire to confirm connection can lead to moving too quickly or reading hesitation as a loss of feeling. This axis is not a measure of sexual morality, orientation, or amount of desire.
Read the field guide Envy
Value Comparison “Why is that position not mine?”
Constructive expression Comparison can reveal gaps quickly and clarify what you genuinely want to pursue, improve, or compete for.
Imbalance risk Other people’s position can become the main measure of your own value until the original reason you wanted something gets lost. Comparison alone is not Envy; the scored tension concerns diminishing or obstructing others versus recognizing or helping them.
Read the field guide Wrath
Retaliation After Harm “When I am hurt, how do I respond?”
Constructive expression Facing harm directly, seeking accountability, and protecting yourself or others when something has gone wrong.
Imbalance risk When punishment becomes the only acceptable ending, anger can continue occupying your life after the original event is over. Setting boundaries, gathering evidence, or pursuing legitimate remedies does not automatically count as Wrath.
Read the field guide Gluttony
Experience Expansion “Why stop here?”
Constructive expression Curiosity, appetite for experience, and willingness to move beyond the familiar into something new.
Imbalance risk Stopping can begin to feel like waste, pushing satisfaction farther away while the cost of continuing becomes easier to ignore. This axis is not a judgment about eating habits, body size, or health.
Read the field guide Sloth
Responsibility Avoidance “Does this really have to be mine to deal with right now?”
Constructive expression Recognizing when responsibility should not be carried indefinitely, and protecting resources through clear limits, verification, and responsible handoff.
Imbalance risk When waiting has no deadline, postponement can gradually become avoidance of an action that still needs to happen. This axis is not a measure of laziness, productivity, or diligence. Its opposite construct is Responsibility, not Diligence.
Read the field guide