How to be Empathetic Towards Others in Your Life

What is the greatest gift, AKA superpower, any human can have? Well, if you ask Meryl Streep, she would tell you this. The greatest gift of human beings is that we have the power of empathy. Do you want to be more empathetic with the humans in your life? If you answered yes to that question, you're in the right spot. In this video, we're going to talk about empathy and how to unlock the superpower of being a more empathetic human in this video right here, right now. Oh, and by the way, if you said no, well, what's the matter with you, man? Anyway, let's get back into why you're here, why you're watching this video. You saw the title or maybe even the thumbnail, and thought to yourself, empathy. Yeah, I need that. Or maybe you even thought to yourself, what the heck is empathy? And why is empathy even a superpower? Well, let's go ahead and start with the why question first. You see, empathy is simply listening, holding space, space, withholding judgment, emotionally connecting and communicating that incredibly healing message of you're not alone. Oh, and those smart words, they're not mine. They're from Brene Brown. And if you haven't checked out some of Brene Brown's books or videos, then links in the description below. But I have to ask, do you have a hard time putting yourself in someone else's shoes? Empathy, or taking on someone else's perspective, doesn't always come naturally to all of us. I. I know. For a lot of years I struggled with being empathetic. You see, it's hard to be empathetic when you're rooted in a world of self. In my opinion, to truly be empathetic, one first needs to over index on being selfless. You can't be all about self or be a narcissist and be empathetic. Again, my opinion or is it? You see, Dr. Jean Twenge analyzed data from 15,000 college students and found that there's a relationship between the year someone was born and their narcissism score. Meaning that people born in later years expressed more narcissism than their elders. Wait, there's a narcissism score? Well, you know, we're gonna have to talk more about that in a future video. But back to the data. You see, people born in later years expressed more narcissism than their elders did. Now, one possible conclusion to this data is that since we're relying so much on technology to communicate it, technology has limited our ability to understand others, express ourselves, and communicate Emotionally, you see, we're so used to sending and receiving texts, tweets, and instant messages that we fail to empathize with others. This breaks the connection we have with the humans around us. And since we're all built to be connected, this can end up putting us in a really bad spot in life. Yep. I am saying that being empathetic to others is also good for ourselves. So why is empathy important? When tragedy strikes in life, your ability to put yourself in someone else's shoes and be compassionate may not immediately resolve things, but it will bring you closer together. And even though empathy may be viewed as a weakness by many, it's actually the most important ingredient for long term relationships with your family, friends, and even co workers or teammates. You see it empathy enables you to have deeper, stronger relationships with those you live and work with on a daily basis, which makes everyone more successful together. When you're empathetic, you're aware of the feelings and emotions of others. You know the humans around you. When you're aware, you can relate and really understand their situation. Whether it's an employee is struggling to complete a project, or they're sick and they need to stay home instead of going into the office. Or maybe it has to do with your kids being in between jobs and needing you to be there to support them, to understand that they're just like you when you were younger, trying to figure out this thing called life. There honestly are hundreds of scenarios that I could run through. However, on the other side of the coin, your inability to display your empathy or to be empathetic can really turn your wife, husband, kids, family, friends and co workers off. And I'm pretty sure that that last list that I listed equals about every possible human you could have in your life. Making them, the people around you, the people in your life, feel unsupported, detached and isolated is not a good look on anyone. So how can you be more empathetic in life? Well, great question. And let's talk about a few steps that one can take to have more empathy as they move forward. Number one, set some time aside to speak with your family, friends or co workers when you suspect there might be an issue. When you speak to them, ask them, how are they feeling. While that might seem like some small gesture, it can really help you become more empathetic by small gestures of helping. Many humans will immediately try to move on or work on something, or when they should be taking a moment to really understand the person and how they're doing emotionally with the problem that they're Facing and at work, this might be leaders immediately assigning work versus taking the time to listen and navigate what might feel like unneeded emotions. And at home, this might look like a frenzied cleaning spell versus sitting down with a loved one. Trust me. Watch for this empathy trap moving forward in your own life. Now, number two, listen to your family, friends, or teammate without interruption. Man, is this one hard. No, really. It's hard for most of us to really listen versus listening for when to talk next. And there's a big difference. Listening shows that you care about them and their situation, so take time to really think about what they're saying before you actually respond. Focus on living a life that leverages active listening. And number three, show your own vulnerability. Again, a difficult step, but if they're feeling depressed, you can open up about a time when you felt that way and how you handled it. You could also try to remove them from the space they're currently in, because many times the emotions we feel are tied to the place that we're at. And again, if this is at work, you could even give the person a mental health day off so that they can have some time to themselves and get back to normal. Or at home. It might be a spa day for your wife or an afternoon on the golf course for your husband, but listen to the problem and the pain and be there. Hashtag listen. No, really listen. You see, the bottom line here is be compassionate with how they may feel when they share issues with you and consider how the things you say and do can affect their lives. Please remember this one thing. You and your words. They have power. And number four, offer them help and guidance to solve their problem if possible. So, for instance, if they're burnt out from work, then maybe give them a day off. Or let them work from home when possible. If it's at home, maybe it's a couple days without chores. Maybe it's helping with the chores. Oh, say it ain't so. Yep, vacuuming the floor, folding the laundry, or doing things that you might not normally do. Think servant mentality and compassion to unlock your empathetic superpower. You see, these actions show that you can and are empathizing with their situation. And with an act of kindness they probably didn't even expect. Leading with empathy will help you get closer to the humans around you and make them feel comfortable coming to you with problems that may occur in the future. And all of this will make you a better leader. Wife, husband, grandparent, in other words, human. Because you'll be able to solve problems faster while also validating emotions. Listen, in life, you'll encounter tough situations and when you do, unlock your hidden superpower. Be empathetic and earn the trust and respect of those around you. But we'll talk about the power of trust and respect in a future video. If you found value in this video, then share it with a friend. Hit the like, the subscribe and the bell as well for those instant notifications. And remember to be a happy, helpful, humble human as you enable the hidden superpower of being empathetic and I'll see you in the next video. Sam.