H. R. McMaster Quotes

I tend to wear my emotions on my sleeve. I've had my share of mood swings, believe me. But it's a powerful thing when you realize that you have dominion over your behavior and your passions.

I thought there was something intrinsically fascinating about people who communicate for a living and are incapable of communicating in their personal lives.

Of course, fighting is one of the most emotional things that you can possibly do. You have to constantly deal with your emotions, especially myself. I have so many that that's where I get my energy from. But it's a matter of controlling them, and yeah, I just don't let nothing affect me.

Sometimes I wonder which is worse - confrontational people who are afraid of caring or caring people who are afraid of confrontation.

You can choose to be civil or not be civil. What is the point of going through the day and think it's cool to wear your honesty on your sleeve at the expense of everyone around you?

It is essential to understand that battles are primarily won in the hearts of men.

One of the things I love about negotiations is that you have to be able to play it like an orchestra, different instruments for different circumstances. There's sweetness, and encouragement, and cajoling. There's pressure, there's drama, there's ultimatums.

Resolution is struggle. Resolution is ego. Resolution is saying, "I cannot live spontaneously. ".

Wars and temper tantrums are the makeshifts of ignorance; regrets are illuminations come too late.

If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle

A man must know when to retreat from a woman, but a wise man knows that sometimes he must stand and face her.

...Nothing that your partner does is personal. Your partner is dealing with her own garbage. If you don't take it personally, it will be so easy for you to have a wonderful relationship with your partner

More often than not, anger is actually an indication of weakness rather than of strength.

One of the marks of maturity is the ability to disagree without becoming disagreeable

One of the things I learned when I was negotiating was that until I changed myself, I could not change others.

Know the enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles you will never peril.

Happiness is dealing with setbacks with more grace, understanding and acceptance

The more something upsets you, the more it is meant for you. When it no longer upsets you, it is no longer needed because the lesson is complete.

Praise must be learned in private before it is exhibited in public.

It is mostly a matter of wills. Whose will is going to break first? Ours or the enemy's?

The three most difficult things for a human being are not physical feats or intellectual achievements. They are, first, returning love for hate; second, including the excluded; third, admitting that you are wrong.

Wars and conflicts begin in the mind, then they are expressed in words and then executed through physical action, so personal transformation is intricately connected with the social and political transformation.

Anger, hatred and jealousy never solve problems, only affection, concern and respect can do that.

I think that nobody gets mad at me anymore, no matter what I say, because I don't think I'm mean. I am interested in what's next.

There is a big difference between thinking: I'm in a relationship and something's wrong. Therefore something must be wrong with the relationship. and thinking I'm in a relationship and we've got problems. This is evidence that you are different than me.