Empathy in Action: Part II
You’ve had a moment or two to digest empathy through my last blog post. I hope that what I wrote before has resonated with and you’ve had a few light bulb moments. Whether the light bulb for you has fully activated or you’re still allowing the light to shine brighter than before, I’m here to tell you that you’re on the right path either way. Empathy takes time, practice, and engagement to be still, listen to your thoughts, and identify ways to truly understand others.
When you think back to the last two weeks, where do you feel you’ve connected the most and found opportunities to be a shining light for others? What new conversations have you had that have validated your understanding of yourself and others? What situations do you feel that you can now use empathy rather than being distracted, focusing on less important things, or not taking the extra 10 minutes in a day to hear someone else’s pain or frustration?
No need to have an answer for the above questions. Empathy hits you differently day by day and it’s ok to be human and not feel empathetic everyday. Simply being self aware of what empathy is and how it can impact others is all that’s needed in life. You will surprise yourself many times over when you engage in a conversation or act as a sounding board for others. You’ve truly got this!
1. Choose JOY – Joy is something that has resonated with me at different times in life. Joy is my mom’s middle name and also the middle name of my first daughter who is now 13 years old. Early in life, I saw it as a word and a word alone. As I’ve learned more about myself, others, and my family, it’s meant way more than I had ever thought it would. Joy to me are the precious moments in life, choosing positivity over anger, and lifting others up. I choose joy by being a positive lift up for others via encouraging words and support. Joy can power even the most challenged people and moments in life. When you choose Joy, you choose to relate, empower, and provide someone their moment to be seen and heard. You also will give them that extra bounce in their step for that day, week or month!
2. Choose Kindness – I’ve always learned to practice the golden rule, “treat others as you would like to be treated”. More recently, I’ve learned about the platinum rule, “treat others as they would like to be treated.”. When I first heard that phrase, I had to think it reflect on what that meant to me and what it would mean for others I would encounter on a day to day basis. Choosing kindness as your top priority means that you look for the opportunity to see the good in others, embrace their inner strengths, and look for those moments to praise their positive contributions. It’s been proven that everyone is going through something at any point in life. We all want to be noticed and cared for. This begins with kindness and helping others along in their journey. The next time you encounter someone in whatever stage of life they are in for that day or moment, choose kindness and you’ll see how much you can add to their life motivations, whether it happens that day or down the road.
3. Be YOU! – Throughout our learning moments via empathy, one of the concepts that I’ve leaned on is we have to take care of ourselves and be at one with ourselves before we can empathetically lean in to help and understand others. One of the primary goals in life to be you and only you. There are moments in life where we are challenged to be someone other than what we’re presented as. I will tell you now that if you make the choice to today to be you, embrace your own strengths and see your differences in a positive way, you will naturally be an empathetic support system for others. There are so many times in life where others are looking to us for inspiration, whether we know it or not. They are looking to our authentic selves and no one else. If we change who we are, those who look up to us may turn away and think they have to be something else other than themselves too. Remember you are more than enough, you are amazing, and you will inspire others by being yourself and practicing empathy daily. You’ve got this!
My challenge to you this week is to continue finding ways to empathize with yourself and others. Simply choose JOY and the rest will figure itself out. You are amazing and are right where you need to be in life! Be proud of yourself and remember to always give yourself grace!
Keep growing and know that I truly believe in you!
Ryan