Virginia Satir > Quotes

“We must not allow other people’s limited perceptions to define us.”
― Virginia Satir

“I am Me. In all the world, there is no one else exactly like me. Everything that comes out of me is authentically mine, because I alone chose it -- I own everything about me: my body, my feelings, my mouth, my voice, all my actions, whether they be to others or myself. I own my fantasies, my dreams, my hopes, my fears. I own my triumphs and successes, all my failures and mistakes. Because I own all of me, I can become intimately acquainted with me. By so doing, I can love me and be friendly with all my parts. I know there are aspects about myself that puzzle me, and other aspects that I do not know -- but as long as I am friendly and loving to myself, I can courageously and hopefully look for solutions to the puzzles and ways to find out more about me. However I look and sound, whatever I say and do, and whatever I think and feel at a given moment in time is authentically me. If later some parts of how I looked, sounded, thought, and felt turn out to be unfitting, I can discard that which is unfitting, keep the rest, and invent something new for that which I discarded. I can see, hear, feel, think, say, and do. I have the tools to survive, to be close to others, to be productive, and to make sense and order out of the world of people and things outside of me. I own me, and therefore, I can engineer me. I am me, and I am Okay.”
― Virginia Satir

“I want to love you without clutching, appreciate you without judging, join you without invading, invite you without demanding, leave you without guilt, criticize you without blaming, and help you without insulting. If I can have the same from you, then we can truly meet and enrich each other.”
― Virginia Satir

“We need 4 hugs a day for survival.
We need 8 hugs a day for maintenance.
We need 12 hugs a day for growth.”
― Virginia Satir

“Feelings of worth can flourish only in an atmosphere where individual differences are appreciated, mistakes are tolerated, communication is open, and rules are flexible - the kind of atmosphere that is found in a nurturing family.”
― Virginia Satir

“Life is not the way it's supposed to be, it's the way it is. The way you cope with it is what makes the difference”
― Virginia Satir

“Over the years I have developed a picture of what a human being living humanely is like. She is a person who understand, values and develops her body, finding it beautiful and useful; a person who is real and is willing to take risks, to be creative, to manifest competence, to change when the situation calls for it, and to find ways to accommodate to what is new and different, keeping that part of the old that is still useful and discarding what is not.”
― Virginia Satir

“The Problem is never the problem! It is only a symptom of something much deeper.”
― Virginia Satir

“Problems are not the problem: coping is the problem.”
― Virginia Satir

“So much is asked of parents, and so little is given.”
― Virginia Satir

“Life is not the way it's supposed to be, it's the way it is. The way you cope with that is what makes the difference.”
― Virginia Satir

“I believe the greatest gift I can conceive of having from anyone is to be seen by them, heard by them, to be understood and touched by them. The greatest gift I can give is to see, hear, understand and to touch another person. When this is done I feel contact has been made.”
― Virginia Satir

“We must not allow other people’s limited perceptions to define us”
― Virginia Satir

“To see and hear what is here, instead of what should be, was, or will be. To say what I feel and think instead of what I should. To feel what I feel instead of what I ought. To ask for what I want instead of always waiting for permission. To take risks on my behalf, instead of choosing to be safe and not rock the boat.”
― Virginia Satir

“Life is not what it's supposed to be.It's what it is.The way you cope with it is what makes the difference”
― Virginia Satir

“Each morning when you wake up, bow three times before the mirror and say, “The world is a better place because I am here.”
― Virginia Satir

“I am me

In all the world, there is no one else exactly like me
Everything that comes out of me is authentically me
Because I alone chose it – I own everything about me
My body, my feelings, my mouth, my voice, all my actions,
Whether they be to others or to myself – I own my fantasies,
My dreams, my hopes, my fears – I own all my triumphs and
Successes, all my failures and mistakes Because I own all of
Me, I can become intimately acquainted with me – by so doing
I can love me and be friendly with me in all my parts – I know
There are aspects about myself that puzzle me, and other
Aspects that I do not know – but as long as I am
Friendly and loving to myself, I can courageously
And hopefully look for solutions to the puzzles
And for ways to find out more about me – However I
Look and sound, whatever I say and do, and whatever
I think and feel at a given moment in time is authentically
Me – If later some parts of how I looked, sounded, thought
And felt turn out to be unfitting, I can discard that which is
Unfitting, keep the rest, and invent something new for that
Which I discarded – I can see, hear, feel, think, say, and do
I have the tools to survive, to be close to others, to be
Productive to make sense and order out of the world of
People and things outside of me – I own me, and
therefore I can engineer me – I am me and
I AM OKAY”
― Virginia Satir

“A mature person is one who, having attained his majority, is able to make choices and decisions based on accurate perceptions about himself, others, and the context in which he finds himself; who acknowledges these choices and decisions as being his; and who accepts responsibility for their outcomes.”
― Virginia Satir, Peoplemaking

“We must not allow other people's limited perceptions to define us.”
― Virginia Satir

“Los niños necesitan que sus padres sean sus amigos tanto como un balazo.”
― Virginia Satir, The New Peoplemaking

“We feel better with the certainty of misery than the misery of uncertainty.”
― Virginia Satir

“Most people prefer the certainty of misery to the misery of uncertainty.”
― Virginia Satir

“Nicio persoană care simte că provine din oameni răi, diabolici nu poate avea o părere bună despre sine.”
― Virginia Satir, The New Peoplemaking

“Cred că cel mai mare dar pe care l-aş putea primi de la cineva este să fiu văzută, ascultată, inţeleasă şi atinsă.”
― Virginia Satir

“Modul în care adulții își folosesc puterea sau influența depinde în mare măsură de ceea ce au învățat în familie, pe când erau copii.”
― Virginia Satir