I talk about empathy quite a lot on here, as I believe that those with more empathy are generally able to make better decisions about many aspects of life. However, it’s easy to think of empathy as just “caring about others”, when that’s really not the point.
There’s also the idea of attunement, which can muddy the waters a bit. When it comes to empathy, though, “Blind Spots” author Madeleine Van Hecke says it takes these two pieces:
Empathy requires two elements: a genuine caring about the other person and the ability to see the world through the other person’s eyes. It’s perfectly possible to be empathic but still trip up because we are blind to another person’s perspective.
At the end of the day, empathy is about understanding what people are feeling, which by nature should lead to a bit more caring. If you understand how someone is feeling and why they feel that way, you’re likely to have a deeper sense of caring for that person.
Of course, empathy doesn’t necessarily mean that you agree with the other person. You may understand what is causing someone to feel a particular way and you may still completely disagree with that reason, and that’s perfectly fine. I work hard to understand the viewpoint of others, particularly those that I don’t agree with, as it helps me see more issues from more angles.
In most cases, simply getting to a solid place of empathy is enough to understand those around you, which will generally make the world feel like a better place to live.
