“Empathy” is a little word that can have a big impact on the amount of positivity in the world. If you ever look at the world and mourn the seemingly endless number of ways that people can fail to care for the plight of others, take heart: humans are wired to be empathetic. This means that it’s easy for us to start living a more empathetic life if we so choose to do so! If this sounds like something you’re interested in, here are some ideas on how to get started.
Empathy Comes Naturally
Like I mentioned before, human beings are wired for empathy. Here’s an example: have you ever seen a stranger hurt themselves in public? How did you react? Chances are, you winced (and likely ran over to help.) This impulse is not an accident, it is due to the existence of something called “mirror neurons” in our brains. These neurons make up something called an “empathy circuit,” which is the reason why people are able to show natural empathy and compassion for complete strangers.
What Empathy Means In Practice
So how do you start living a more empathetic daily life? One good way to start is by learning to listen to others without interrupting. Often, we’re in such a hurry to share a piece of information that we don’t even hear what others are saying. Other simple tips include smiling and using people’s names in direct conversation, which builds a sense of connection. It’s this sense of connection that can turn a stranger into a member of your community. Best of all, these ideas cost absolutely nothing.
Professional Empathy
Not only is empathy a good thing to practice from an ethical perspective, but it’s also a smart thing to do professionally. There are studies that show that when employees actively practice empathy at work, there is “a correlation between empathy and increased sales, high performing managers of product development teams, and increased performance in highly diverse teams”. Not only that, empathy naturally improves communication and positivity between various professional departments. If your company has been having some serious communication problems, it’s likely that practicing empathy on a company-wide level will be the answer.
My name is Jessica Cox, and my primary goal is to help others lead their best possible lives. When you’re able to do that, you’ll find that achieving the impossible begins to seem a lot less impossible! If you’re interested in me sharing my strategies for leading a more dynamic life with the attendees at your religious gathering, conference, or business function, please contact me.