Do you want to develop your empathy?
Don’t practise on others.
That comes later.
To develop your empathy, you have to start with yourself.
If you can’t be empathetic to yourself, how can you be empathetic to others?
If you don’t accept your anger, how can you accept their anger?
If you dismiss your fears, how can you accept their fears?
Empathy starts from within.
So do emotional intelligence and leadership.
Where do you start? Ask:
1) What am I feeling in this moment?
2) Can I sit with this feeling without wanting it to be different?
3) Can I forgive myself for having that feeling?
This is more than enough; it’s everything!
But it takes practice. Daily practice.
And it’s not always easy. You will fail a million times. You will try to fool yourself and give fake apologies. You will find it hard to forgive.
If it’s not easy, just accept that it’s not easy.
Sometimes you may find that this was all you needed.
Loving you, Angelos.