Wanted: empathic people

Are you insecure or do you have doubts? Do you need a sympathetic ear from time to time? You’re not alone. Unless you’re a robot this crisis affects every single one of us. There is no drug to help against that gnawing uncertainty but empathy clearly has a therapeutic effect. When life eventually returns to normal, we will tighten our bonds with friends, family, customers and colleagues. Corona has pushed the reset button and genuine human contact has become more important. 

Those with a strong ability to empathise will be able to build genuinely valuable contacts. By the way, empathy is not the same thing as sympathy!

An empathic reaction rarely if ever starts with: “That’s hard, but at least you can still...” Or with: “That’s a pain but at least you’ve still got...” Also, an empathic reaction rarely if ever goes like “..., but keep in mind that every cloud has a silver lining!” and usually doesn’t suggest a solution to the other person’s problem.

Dr. Brené Brown is a professor at the university of Houston where, for many years, she conducted research into vulnerability, courage, authenticity and shame. In this short animation she illustrates the power of empathy.