Observation vs. evaluation 👈

Today's journal prompt draws inspiration from Marshall B. Rosenberg’s transformative book, Nonviolent Communication.

If there’s one book that consistently comes up in podcasts and self-improvement books, it’s this one—and for good reason.

The core of nonviolent communication is fostering meaningful connections with ourselves and others, enabling our natural compassion to flourish. It encourages us to shift how we express ourselves and listen to others by focusing on four key areas: what we are observing, feeling, needing, and requesting to enrich our lives.

Rosenberg explains, “Most of us grew up speaking a language that encourages us to label, compare, demand, and pronounce judgments rather than to be aware of what we are feeling and needing.”

In essence, we’re often taught early to disconnect from our inner world.

Today, we’ll focus on the first pillar of nonviolent communication: observing without evaluating.

When we mix observation with evaluation, it often comes across as criticism, making others defensive. True observation is rooted in specific times and contexts. For instance: “Hank Smith has not scored a goal in twenty games” versus “Hank Smith is a bad soccer player.”

Happy journaling,

Kelsey

Most journal prompts you’ll find here draw inspiration from the books I’m reading. Below, you’ll find the books and weekly themes so you can read ahead if you’d like. Reading isn’t necessary—it's simply an option if a particular theme sparks your curiosity and you'd like to dive deeper. 

Here’s the schedule:

• Week of January 20th - Theme: Connecting & communication. Book: Nonviolent Communication

• Week of January 27th - Theme: Finding purpose. Book: Man’s Search for Meaning

• Week of February 3rd - Theme: Tools for life. Book: Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before?

• Week of February 10th - Theme: Making decisions. Book: Thinking, Fast and Slow

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Want to find more prompts? You can scroll through all previous prompts here.