Wednesday's Words: Empathy

Empathy

You have your own perspective, and it is well-informed and valuable. Yet you do not know it all, and it’s a good idea to avoid the assumption that you do.

Other people may often frustrate and annoy you, and you may wonder how they could be so ignorant, immature, misinformed or whatever. But you only see a very small part of their perspective, and cannot possibly know everything that goes into their decisions.

Being overly judgmental rarely does anyone any good. Look for opportunities to replace judgment with empathy.

By all means, live and act with excellence, and expect excellence from others. When others fail to live up to your expectations, find ways to offer help rather than to cause hurt.

Seek to understand, and to encourage genuine understanding in others. Let go of the need to lecture and to rant, so you can spend more of your precious life in a positive state.

Make connections instead of judgments. And make the best of every situation and of every person you encounter.

— Ralph Marston