Empathy 👂 (1/2)

I recently watched an insightful video by Brené Brown that highlights the key difference between empathy and sympathy.

In this video, she outlines the four qualities of empathy:

1️⃣ Perspective taking: Seeing and respecting the other person’s experience as their truth (this is also one of the principles of NLP).

2️⃣ Staying out of judgment.

3️⃣ Recognizing emotions in others.

4️⃣ Communicating that recognition.

We’ve all been in situations where people tried to “sympathize” with us, but instead, it left us feeling unheard or even guilty:

- “I know you're sad. I’m sad too, everyone here is sad.”

- “Oh, a friend of mine went through something similar recently. It will pass.”

We’ve all said things like this with good intentions. It’s human nature to want to give advice or fix someone’s pain, especially when we care about them. But sometimes, those well-meaning responses don’t help.

🤝 The real gift is in listening and being there, without trying to fix or respond, just holding space for them.

Sympathy isn’t wrong. It depends on what you’re aiming to achieve in the conversation and the nature of your relationship. But here’s what I’ve realized:

👉 Sympathy is more about you. 

It can make you seem kind or wise as you offer advice or try to make things better.

👈 Empathy is about them. 

It’s about connecting with their emotions (not their situation) and truly understanding, rather than solving.

Empathy is rooted in acceptance and connection. 🌟