|
DailyGoodFor the last 27 years, DailyGood newsletters have offered a daily email that inspires you to respond to life with creativity and kindness. To join a community of 148,502 subscribers, subscribe here. |
Jul 10, 2020
"Empathy is connecting with the emotion that someone is experiencing, not the event or the circumstance." --Brene Brown
Empathy vs Sympathy
Empathy and sympathy are not just two different approaches to confronting the emotional challenges of others; they are diametrically opposite responses in many important ways. Sympathy places another's problems at a distance from us, places us in a position of superiority, and "drives separation", says the film's narrator, Dr. Bren Brown. Empathy, on the other hand, requires that one internalize the feelings of another. That shared experience drives interpersonal connection, she says. "What makes things better is connection."
BE THE CHANGE
The next time you find yourself feeling sorry for someone, try to shift your reaction from sympathy to empathy.
