Build Skills of Empathy
Empathy is having a feeling for someone else or "sympathizing" with them. Empathy is a shared feeling between two people.
Try these activities in order to build your empathy:
- Watch someone who seems unable to connect with others easily, and note which behaviors seem to alienate others. Think of behaviors that could be incorporated that would enable him or her to be more skillful.
- Watch someone who connects easily with others. Make a list of behaviors that seem to attract others.
- Imagine you meet someone new at a social event. Write five things you can say or do to "loosen him up." These should be things that allow the person to share freely.
- The next time there is an argument between people, make a list (afterwards, of course) of the toxic, empathy-destroying things any of the participants said or did that aggravated the situation. What could have been done differently?
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