Empathy: understanding and entering into another’s feelings

If there is any one secret of success, it lies in the ability to get the other person’s point of view and see things from his angle as well as your own. ~Henry Ford

How empathetic are you, and does it really matter?

  1. During an argument, do you actively try to understand not necessarily the other’s point of view but why they feel that way?
  2. When breaking bad news, do you first think of how it will be heard?
  3. In business, do you try to satisfy your customer by trying to think and feel what they do?
  4. In a personal relationship, how often do you think, “how does s/he see this?”
  5. Are you more likely to think “s/he is an asshole” or “I wonder why s/he is being an asshole”?
  6. When was the last time you wondered how your child perceived the day?
  7. Have you tasted every medicine and food you give your child?
  8. Do you dress your child in clothes as warm as you dress yourself, or do you wonder how warm they would be seeing they are non-mobile?
  9. Have you tried sleeping in your child’s bed to see how comfortable it really is?
  10. How do you hold your child (if you do) when s/he is getting a shot? Giving blood? Is that how you want to be held?
  11. Ever wonder if your kid loves you? And then wonder why or why not?

This goes along with the “Shoes” link on the menu above. Different, but similar.

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  1. By Gimky

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  3. By Lynn

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