Top 250 Marshall B. Rosenberg Quotes (2024 Update)
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101. “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

102. “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

103. “Every time I mess up is a chance to practice.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

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

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

105. “The key to fostering connection in the face of a ‘no’ is always hearing ‘yes’ to something else.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

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

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

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

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

108. “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

109. “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

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

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

111. “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

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

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

113. “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

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

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

115. “Every message, regardless of form or content, is an expression of a need.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

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

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

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

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

118. “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

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

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

120. “Ask before offering advice or reassurance.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

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

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

122. “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

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

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

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

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

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

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

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

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

127. “We are designed for Giving.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

128. “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

129. “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

130. “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

131. “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

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

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

133. “Understanding and connection can transcend conflict.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

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

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

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

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

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

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

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

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

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

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

139. “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

140. “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

141. “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

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

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

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

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

144. “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

145. “We want people to change because they see better ways of meeting their needs at less cost, not because of fear that we’re going to punish them, or ‘guilt’ them if they don’t. This applies to ourselves as well.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

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

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

147. “My need is for safety, fun and to have distribution of resources, a sustainable life on the planet. NVC is a strategy that serves me to meet these needs.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

148. “If we want to make meetings productive, we need to keep track of those whose requests are on the table.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

149. “We only feel dehumanized when we get trapped in the derogatory images of other people or thoughts of wrongness about ourselves. As author and mythologist Joseph Campbell suggested, “‘What will they think of me?’ must be put aside for bliss.” We begin to feel this bliss when messages previously experienced as critical or blaming begin to be seen for the gifts they are: opportunities to give to people who are in pain.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg

150. “As NVC replaces our old patterns of defending, withdrawing or attacking in the face of judgment and criticism. We come to perceive ourselves and others, as well as our intentions and relationships, in a new light. Resistance, defensiveness, and violent reactions are minimized.”

— Marshall B. Rosenberg