Our society is fixated on assigning blame and pointing fingers; only when the culprit is found and "punished" we focus on finding a solution. While it is true that not every situation we come in contact with is entirely in our control, we are, however, in control of how we react to situations. And that is meant by taking self-responsibility. We then are ultimately in control of how we feel by the thoughts we think and thus how we act and behave. By switching our perception from blame to finding solutions and our language from a negative statement to a more positive one, we not only change our own energy but the energy that surrounds us. With time and practice, our life will change as we are attracting wellness and positive energy, prosperity, peace, and abundance.
Language of the Giraffe aka Non-Violent Communication
Developed by Marshall B. Rosenberg, non-violent communication is a communication of the heart and since the giraffe has the largest heart of any land animal and represents compassion, it is also called "the language of the giraffe." Non-violent communication uses two animals as examples, one is the giraffe and the other one is a jackal which represents competition. Often when we speak, we speak from our mind or the ego. The ego tells us what we want and is in direct competition with the opponent. We are then in a state of judgment, accusation, criticizing or analyzing as our thoughts ruminate about how unfairly we are being treated. In such, we are separating our self from others whereas the language of the giraffe is harmonizing and unifying. Here is an example of how this works:
Observation - make an observation such as "I see, I hear, I observe..."
State your feeling - "I feel ..."
Need - My need is..., I need ..., Because I would like ..., I desire ...
Request - Are you wiling to do ...
Interested in learning more? Click the following links to read about NVC. I often teach the language of the giraffe to my clients.