Harville Hendrix Quote

When we were babies, we didn’t smile sweetly at our mothers to get them to take care of us. We didn’t pinpoint our discomfort by putting it into words. We simply opened our mouths and screamed. And it didn’t take us long to learn that, the louder we screamed, the quicker they came. The success of this tactic was turned into an imprint, a part of our stored memory about how to get the world to respond to our needs: When you are frustrated, provoke the people around you.

Harville Hendrix

When we were babies, we didn’t smile sweetly at our mothers to get them to take care of us. We didn’t pinpoint our discomfort by putting it into words. We simply opened our mouths and screamed. And it didn’t take us long to learn that, the louder we screamed, the quicker they came. The success of this tactic was turned into an imprint, a part of our stored memory about how to get the world to respond to our needs: When you are frustrated, provoke the people around you.

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About Harville Hendrix

Harville Hendrix (born 1935) is an American writer.
Hendrix is best known for the book Getting the Love You Want, which gained popularity during Hendrix's 17 appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show.
He is a member of the American Association of Pastoral Counselors as well as a clinical member of the American Group Psychotherapy Association and the International Transactional Analysis Association, and has produced 10 written works in partnership with his wife Helen LaKelly Hunt.