20+ Eric Berne Quotes On Friendship, Self And Socialization

Eric Berne was an American psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who is best known for developing the theory of transactional analysis. He wrote the book Games People Play which popularized the theory and introduced the world to the concept of transactional analysis. He also wrote several other books, including What Do You Say After You Say Hello?, which further developed his ideas. Following is our collection on famous quotes by Eric Berne on leadership, friendship, self.

The moment a little boy is concerned with which is a jay and which is a sparrow, he can no longer see the birds or hear them sing. — Eric Berne

The destiny of every human being is decided by what goes on inside his skull when confronted by what goes on outside his skull. — Eric Berne

Love is nature's psychotherapy. — Eric Berne

A loser doesn't know what he'll do if he loses, but talks about what he'll do if he wins, and a winner doesn't talk about what he'll do if he wins, but knows what he'll do if he loses. — Eric Berne

A healthy person goes 'Yes,' 'No,' and 'Whoopee!' An unhealthy person goes 'Yes, but,' 'No, but,' and 'No whoopee. — Eric Berne

It is better to be a slave to your beloved woman than a free man to the unloved one. — Eric Berne

Awareness means the capacity to see a coffeepot and hear the birds sing in one's own way and not the way one was taught. — Eric Berne

Some say that one-sided love is better than none, but like half a loaf of bread, it is likely to grow hard and moldy sooner. — Eric Berne

Games are a compromise between intimacy and keeping intimacy away. — Eric Berne

We are born princes and the civilizing process makes us frogs. — Eric Berne

Every man must, in a measure, be alone in the world. No heart was ever cast in the same mould as that which we bear within us. — Eric Berne

No man is a hero to his wife's psychiatrist. — Eric Berne

Human life [is] ... a process of filling in time until the arrival of death, or Santa Claus, with very little choice, if any, of what kind of business one is going to transact during the long wait. — Eric Berne

Losers spend time explaining why they lost. Losers spend their lives thinking about what they're going to do. They rarely enjoy doing what they're doing. — Eric Berne

Each person designs his own life, freedom gives him the power to carry out his own designs, and power gives the freedom to interfere with the designs of others. — Eric Berne

Awareness requires living in the here and now, and not in the elsewhere, the past or the future. — Eric Berne

Such a woman is called Mother's FRIEND always ready to give judicious Parental advice and living vicariously on the experience of others — Eric Berne

A winner fulfills his contract with the world and with himself. That is, he sets out to do something, says that he is committed to doing it, and in the long run does it. — Eric Berne

Whatever you do, think of next morning's headlines. — Eric Berne

The eternal problem of the human being is how to structure his waking hours — Eric Berne

Life Lessons by Eric Berne

1. Eric Berne's work focused on understanding how people interact with each other in social situations and how these interactions can affect their mental health. He developed the idea of transactional analysis, which looks at the underlying motivations behind communication between people. Through his work, we can learn the importance of understanding the dynamics of communication and how our interactions with others can shape our mental wellbeing.