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

Our survival as a species depends on our ability to recognize that our well-being and the well-being of others are in fact one and the same.

How I choose to look at any situation will greatly affect whether I have the power to change it or make matters worse.

Not getting our needs fulfilled is painful - but it's a sweet pain, not suffering, which is what comes from life-alienated thinking and interpretation.

Self-empathy in NVC means checking in with your own feelings and needs.

Always listen to what people need rather than what they are thinking about us.

Often, instead of offering empathy, we have a strong urge to give advice or reassurance and to explain our own position or feeling.