Empathy vs. Sympathy ...
No one wants anyone to feel sorry for them. All we need and ask for is a touch of understanding, a kind word; a smile... If you can lend a helping hand and help to lift someone up, take the time to do so.
One of the questions that we hear a lot is: "What is the difference between sympathy and empathy?"
According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, empathy is:
“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”.
In general, 'sympathy' is when you share the feelings of another; 'empathy' is when you understand the feelings of another but do not necessarily share them.
Dr. Brene Brown gives one of the best explanations of empathy, and helps us understand why is so important.
Empathy fuels connection. Sympathy drives disconnection. – Dr. Brené Brown
Although empathy and sympathy are often used under the same umbrella; they are very, very different, as Brené Brown outlines in this Empathy video.
Empathy is a very important life skill.
Empathy is trying to understand what another person is feeling.
Empathy is the ability to see the world through someone else's eyes; it is being able to see yourself walking in someone else's shoes.
Empathy helps people to understand each other, to get along better and to feel better.
5 ways in which we can practice empathy in our lives and to make the world we live in a better place.
Listen actively to others when having a conversation, show genuine interest in what they have to say.
Take time to ask someone how they are feeling, this can brighten someone's day.
Learn about cultural differences and about different cultures. The way you see and do things may not be the only way that is acceptable.
Be genuine - show concern and care about others - pay attention to the needs of others
Don't judge - take the time to understand and invest in getting to know someone else better.
.... and 5 quotes to remind us of the importance of empathy and of incorporating it in our daily lives.
Learning to stand in somebody else’s shoes, to see through their eyes, that’s how peace begins. And it’s up to you to make that happen. Empathy is a quality of character that can change the world.
– Barack Obama
Empathy is seeing with the eyes of another, listening with the ears of another and feeling with the heart of another.
– Alfred Adler
Resolve to be tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant with the weak and wrong. Sometime in your life, you will have been all of these.
– Gautama Buddha
The purpose of human life is to serve, and to show compassion and the will to help others.
– Albert Schweitzer
If you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view, until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.
– Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird
How do you practice empathy? Please share your thoughts with us in the comment box below.
Comments