On Empathy

“Definition of Empathy

1: the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner also: the capacity for this

How would I feel…is such a good place to start.

You listen with only one purpose: to help him or her to empty his heart. Even if they says things that are full of wrong perceptions, full of bitterness, you are still capable of continuing to listen with compassion. Because you know that listening like that, you give that person a chance to suffer less. If you want to help them to correct their perception, you wait for another time. For now, you don’t interrupt. You don’t argue. If you do, they lose their chance. You just listen with compassion and help them to suffer less. One hour like that can bring transformation and healing.

To practice deep listening, we do two thing: we identify if we have a personal agenda. We pause and sit on the agenda/calm our itch to react, and then we ask for and listen for the next deeper level of what’s going on.

Genuine curiosity is one of our best tools in developing empathy. When we allow ourselves to come from a place of not knowing and not assuming where another person is coming from — it opens us to one another.

This even works with our kids. Try it next time your child comes home from school complaining about something or upset — rather than offering solutions or correcting their perception, ask a question: I wonder what that felt like? How did you deal with that? What are you thinking now? Or even, how can I be helpful?

Then, listen.”

Read the full article on Medium

✨Takeaway: Empathy and active listening demands that we take our time, practice, pay attention, and, hopefully, learn. Instead of trying to have a fact and instantaneous reaction, take time to put yourself in the other persons shoes. Ask yourself this question: “How would I feel?”

✨Reflection: How can you practice being more empathetic?

#Empathy #MentalHealth #Psychology #Friends #Relationships