Top 250 Marshall B. Rosenberg Quotes (2025 Update)
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101. “Translate all self-judgments into self-empathy.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

102. “When we are depressed, our thinking blocks us from being aware of our needs, and then being able to take action to meet our needs.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

103. “Power-Over leads to punishment and violence. Power-With leads to compassion and understanding, and to learning motivated by reverence for life rather than fear, guilt, shame, or anger.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

104. “Also, think about your intentionality – are you getting lost in the method? or coming from the intentionality, the purpose? You don’t want to do the mechanics without the consciousness.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

105. “I find that my cultural conditioning leads me to focus attention on places where I am unlikely to get what I want. I developed NVC as a way to train my attention-to shine the light of consciousness-on places that have the potential to yield what I am seeking.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

106. “Don’t mix up that which is habitual with that which is natural.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

107. “Empathy lies in our ability to be present without opinion.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

108. “When we judge others we contribute to violence.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

109. “Anger is a signal that you’re distracted by judgmental or punitive thinking, and that some precious need of yours is being ignored.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

110. “This language is from the head. It is a way of mentally classifying people into varying shades of good and bad, right and wrong. Ultimately, it provokes defensiveness, resistance, and counterattack. It is a language of demands.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

111. “If we ask two questions, we will see that punishment never works. First: What do we want the other person to do? Second: What do we want the other person’s reasons to be for doing as we request?”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

112. “NVC is a way of keeping our consciousness tuned in moment by moment to the beauty within ourselves.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

113. “When we make mistakes, we can use the process of NVC mourning and self-forgiveness to show us where we can grow instead of getting caught up in moralistic self-judgments.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

114. “Let’s shine the light of consciousness on places where we can hope to find what we are seeking.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

115. “Fear of punishment diminishes self-esteem and goodwill.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

116. “Never hear what somebody thinks about you, you’ll live longer. Hear that they’re in pain. Don’t hear their analysis.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

117. “Get very clear about the kind of world we would like and then start living that way.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

118. “Don’t do anything that isn’t play!”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

119. “Violence comes from the belief that other people cause our pain and therefore deserve punishment.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

120. “Staying with empathy we allow speakers to touch deeper levels of themselves.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

121. “When we hear the other person’s feelings and needs, we recognize our common humanity.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

122. “Ask before offering advice or reassurance.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

123. “Thinking based on who deserves what blocks compassionate communication.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

124. “We only feel dehumanized when we get trapped in the derogatory images of other people or thoughts of wrongness about ourselves.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

125. “NVC is founded on language and communication skills that strengthen our ability to remain human, even under trying conditions.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

126. “With every choice you make, be conscious of what need it serves.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

127. “Remember that whatever anyone does, it is an effort to meet a need.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

128. “NVC shows us a way of being very honest, but without any criticism, insults, or putdowns, and without any intellectual diagnosis implying wrongness.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

129. “Learning is too precious to be motivated by coercive tactics.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

130. “Analyses of others are actually expressions of our own needs and values.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

131. “It’s really a spiritual practice that I am trying to show as a way of life.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

132. “We are designed for Giving.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

133. “A second even more obvious sign is that the person will stop talking. If we are uncertain as to whether we have stayed long enough in the process, we can always ask, “Is there more that you wanted to say”?”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

134. “NVC suggests behind every action, however ineffective, tragic, violent, or abhorrent to us, is an attempt to meet a need.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

135. “I believe that the most joyful and intrinsic motivation human beings have for taking any action is the desire to meet our needs and the needs of others.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

136. “Every moment each human being is doing the best we know at that moment to meet our needs. We never do anything that is not in the service of a need, there is no conflict on our planet at the level of needs. We all have the same needs. The problem is in strategies for meeting the needs.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

137. “What I want in my life is compassion, a flow between myself and others based on a mutual giving from the heart.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

138. “Anger can be a wonderful wake up call to help you understand what you need and what you value.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

139. “Understanding and connection can transcend conflict.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

140. “The first step in healing is to put the focus on what’s alive now, not what happened in the past.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

141. “Never hear what a jackal-speaking person thinks, especially what they think about you.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

142. “Enemy images are the main reason conflicts don’t get resolved.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

143. “When people hear needs, it provokes compassion. When people hear diagnoses, it provokes defensiveness and attack.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

144. “In NVC, no matter what words others may use to express themselves, we simply listen for their observations, feelings, needs, and requests.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

145. “Imagine connecting with the human spirit in each person in any situation at any time. Imagine interacting with others in a way that allows everyone’s need to be equally valued. Imagine creating organizations and life-serving systems responsive to our needs and the needs of our environment.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

146. “Behind intimidating messages are simply people appealing to us to meet their needs.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

147. “Teacher, school administrators and parents will come away from Life-Enriching Education with skills in language, communication, and ways of structuring the learning environment that support the development of autonomy and interdependence in the classroom.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

148. “We do not look for compromise; rather, we seek to resolve the conflict to everyone’s complete satisfaction.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

149. “We deny responsibility for our actions when we attribute their cause to factors outside ourselves:.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

150. “Most of us live in a Jackal world where we take turns using the other person as a waste basket for our words.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg