Almost every day someone asks me to help them with a relationship concern.
– What’s her problem?
– What can I do?
– What’s he thinking?
– How should I explain…

Most people are looking for a solution.

I’ve found one. I’ve found empathy improves all of my relationships.

What’s Empathy?

According to brittanica.com empathy is “the ability to imagine oneself in another’s place and understand the other’s feelings, desires, ideas, and actions.” 1

I’ve joked many times that my friend Erica Wilson is the “queen of empathy.” I’ve never known anyone who doesn’t enjoy a conversation with her. Erica is sweet, caring and compassionate, and her empathy – her ability to connect with someone’s feelings, desires, ideas, and actions – is remarkable.

I’m not like that. I wasn’t born very empathetic. I connect more naturally with my head than my heart; my thoughts more than my feelings. My empathy is more learned than instinctual.

I have met some very challenged people:
– Their woundedness blinds them from the needs of others.
– Their guardedness protects them from engaging with others.
– Their sociopathic nature prevents them from (seemingly) being able to connect with others.

Maybe not every person can raise their empathy levels, but I believe you probably can and you’ll really be glad if you do.

More tomorrow.

1 – Encyclopædia Britannica