How empathetic are you?

Empathy

We all want to believe we have it. We want to believe we are compassionate, kind and considerate. But are you, truly?  Few people question themselves about it.

Have you ever said to yourself….wait! Am I lacking an empathetic response here? Am I being inconsiderate?  Am I being unkind?  Did I truly put myself into that person’s shoes before judging them?

It’s a very natural response for us to reflexively respond in judgement and defense then it is for us to be empathetic. Think about it.

If you say yes, that you have reflected on this exact topic, then that’s a great indicator that you have a good degree of empathy.  And let me stop you, it shouldn’t come when someone is questioning you–saying perhaps you haven’t been empathetic. I’m talking have you ever just stopped yourself in a situation and wondered if you were truly being empathetic, without prompting?

If you haven’t, maybe it’s time for a an engine check and a tune-up?

This is a great empathy test by the Greater Good Magazine–Science-based Insights for a Meaningful Life from Berkeley.

Empathy involves putting yourself into the shoes of another in an attempt to feel what they may be feeling, to understand their situation from their point of view, not yours.

We all walk around with different levels and abilities to empathize with people. There are also different forms of empathy. There is emotional, cognitive and compassionate empathy. You can read an interesting article about it here.

Empathy is something that children need to be taught as early teenage development brings about strikingly self-centered behavior. It’s a natural part of our emotional development. Children and young adults are notorious for being self-centered. It’s their “toy”, their “game”, and if someone did something wrong, it wasn’t them even when the frosting is all over their cheeks and the cupcake is gone. She ate it, not me, right?

Being empathetic is essential for happiness in life. Without it people suffer.  A lack of empathy can cause devastating effects not only to the people around a person lacking empathy, but also for the person who lacks empathy themselves. They will struggle to form emotional bonds, build deep and lasting relationships and may never experience true love.

Empathy is not only good for others, but good for you, too!

Take the Empathy Test.   How empathetic are you?

Feel free to share your results below in the comment section.  I found my results fascinating.