Empathy: When You Learn To Understand

Empathy is something many of us have naturally always had and others need to develop. To empathize with someone means to know why that person has behaved in a certain way, to be able to understand others.

This does not mean that you always have to agree with the other person. It just means you can see why he was behaving that way, that you’re looking way beyond your nose.

Empathy will not only help us in our relationships with other people, but will also help us with ourselves. So start exercising your empathy today.

Stimulate your empathy

If you are already an empathetic person by nature, then you should learn how to make your empathic capacity even stronger. That way you can benefit from it as much as possible. If you usually find it difficult to empathize with others, then it’s time you started practicing putting yourself in someone else’s shoes more often.

This is by no means easy, but not impossible at all. To learn to empathize with others, initially just start by observing others. Put yourself and your own perspective aside for a moment and start seeing the world through the eyes of others.

For some people this is perfectly normal, but for others it can be quite difficult. However, with a little time and practice, you too will eventually be able to do it. In the meantime, do you want to know how to boost your empathy?

• Observation is an important step towards empathy, especially observing non-verbal behavior. Sometimes people can say something verbally, but their non-verbal way of speaking shows something completely different. Therefore, pay close attention to the gestures and movements someone makes. This is because you can see how he feels on a deeper level.
• In addition, it is important to listen carefully to what someone is actually saying, both verbally and non-verbally. Listening is much more important than talking. By actively listening and observing you will be able to put yourself in the other person’s shoes and understand them.

• Understanding is the last step you need to take to boost your empathy. By observing and listening, you will be able to better understand what someone else is going through, even if your feelings don’t match those of the other person. Having a different attitude does not necessarily mean that we have to judge someone else, but rather that we have to try to understand the other, that we have to expand our minds and be open to the thinking of another. Respect another’s attitude and try to understand it, even if you don’t feel the same way.

Empathy means being able to immerse yourself in someone else’s emotional world without drowning in it.

Understanding prefers empathy

We will never be able to empathize with someone else if we cannot understand and respect their reactions and attitude. We should never judge others. Maybe tomorrow we will do exactly what we criticized the day before.

Expanding your mind and understanding other perspectives will help you learn more about personal relationships and will also make you more able to empathize with others.

In order to empathize with others, naturally or by force, it is important to remember the following:

• Show interest in the other person.
• Keep your emotions in check. If you disagree with something the other person is saying, don’t show it.
• Let the other person know that you understand them.
• Be completely absorbed in what the other person is saying to you.
• Show that you support him.

All of this will help to understand someone else and make them feel better and supported. And then when it’s time for you to want to be understood yourself, hopefully you’ll find someone who knows how to empathize with you.

“People who are tough, inflexible, arrogant and negative… often find it very difficult to empathize with someone else and to understand what those around them are going through. They have lost their ability to observe and with it their ability to understand.”

-María Jesus Alava Reyes–

Sometimes we find it very difficult to empathize with others. This is often the case when there is a lot of pain and disappointment. These negative emotions are much stronger than our sensitivity, causing us to lose perspective and degrade empathy.

You can develop empathy, but for that it is important to make an effort to observe others, actively listen to them and understand them. Do you want to learn how to understand others? Do you want to learn how to understand other behaviors? Learning this will enrich both your life and your interpersonal relationships.

–Images courtesy of Mina Smoke and Christian Schloe–