Ten Important Things We Know and Often Forget - By Rachelle Lamb

Rachelle Lamb will be presenting Nonviolent Communication at Hollyhock May 14-19.

1. We can’t change others; we can only change ourselves.

2. When people hear blame or criticism, they will usually shut down and become defensive.

3. When we take things personally, we suffer.

4. Consciously or unconsciously, we choose our responses in every given moment.

5. Everyone experiences struggle in life.

6. Anytime a person is angry or blaming, they are hurting inside.

7. People are doing the best they can.

8. Human beings are designed to strive for happiness; being miserable isn’t fun.

9. Everyone needs to know that they matter.

10. Life is more enjoyable when we derive meaning and purpose from it.

11. The way we think, listen and speak has enormous influence on our experience and hence our happiness.

12. People are naturally collaborative and good natured when a) they are wholeheartedly engaged and b) they know that their contribution matters.

13. Human beings are interdependent and need each other. As the Asian saying says “Shared joy is double joy; shared sorrow is half sorrow.”

The Nonviolent Communication Model encourages us to examine how we think, listen and communicate internally with ourselves and outwardly with others while also reminding us to hold within our awareness important basic truths about human beings and relationship dynamics. Using a four-step process, NVC supports us in becoming more aware, inclusive and positive in our communication, thereby providing us with the ability to influence mutually productive outcomes more effectively and consistently.