Empathy is more than just saying “Awwww”… it’s about putting yourself in another person’s Chuck Taylors. In business and personal life it matters VERY much to be able to see another person’s perspective.
The capacity to recognize emotions that are being experienced by another sentient or fictional being. One may need to have a certain amount of empathy before being able to experience accurate sympathy or compassion.
I believe, in my ever-so-humble opinion, that lack of empathy is a root cause of most of our problems. We have a difficult time seeing past our own
preconceived perceptions, expecting others to think-act-feel-see things the way we do. Not purposely of course, we’re just wired to be selfish. Well… we are. Self-preservation says this is so.
We innately focus on ourselves out of need. How does this impact me? How do I relate to this stimuli? What’s in it for me? Me-me-me-mine-mine-mine-blah-blah-blah. Living in a world of “want”… we focus on ourselves, by ourselves, with ourselves… to take care of ourselves.
It takes great effort to think outside that bubble. Pushing away the stigma of self and looking past your own nose might be one of the most difficult tasks you could ever attempt. But people do it every day. A smile to a stranger, a door held open, giving selflessly, volunteering, sharing, helping others by GIVING of yourself is the highest standard of humanity. It’s the very best of us.
So remember that we don’t all start from the same place, we’re not given the same skill set, we aren’t all born with a silver spoon in our mouth. Think of someone else’s perspective, practice and live empathy, and your world will become a much more beautiful, wonder filled space.
