But what is really empathy or being an empathic person?
Empathy is the ability that allows people to put themselves in the place of other living beings in terms of feelings and emotions. Empathizing is having the ability to feel at every moment what the other person is feeling and being able to make decisions as if you were them.Without a doubt, it is perhaps the most important capacity for a person, and with the passage of time it has been gaining much importance. And it is that, for example, in interviews for jobs, being an empathic person or having empathy in front of a complicated situation is valued very positively.
Who is empathic understands life differently and cares much more for others than those who are not. Empathy is present in practically every moment and in any situation in our daily lives.
For example, in something as simple as contributing a small comment to a conversation between four friends, you can see if that person is empathetic or on the contrary lacks that ability. If, before saying what you are thinking, it occurs to you how your friends will react, think or feel, you are having empathy to be able to assess whether what you will say may harm their emotions or thoughts. On the other hand, if, on the contrary, you drop it directly without putting yourself in their place, it may become a totally out of place comment that can make one of your friends feel very bad.
In the times we live in, without empathy there is no evolution
For a few months now, we have found ourselves in a situation that we have never experienced before. A global pandemic that every day that passes weakens us more as a society but of which at the same time we have to be convinced that we will emerge stronger and more united than ever.However, in order to emerge victorious from the battle, stronger and united than ever, there is a capacity that has to gain importance among all of us, and this is empathy. Nowadays it has become clear that without empathy we cannot advance as a society, we could not reach any agreement or consensus.
Without empathy we run the risk of living in anarchy and each person could do what they please whenever they want, and without taking into account that we all live under the same roof and on the same planet that we must protect.
These are times of making difficult decisions as a society, at any level, both globally and at the family level. We have to be together to understand each other. One of our objectives as a person should be to improve our capacity for empathy on a daily basis to be able to put ourselves in the place of others, as far as feelings and emotions are concerned, to achieve consensus and agreements between those who think in a certain way very different from us.
Characteristics of an empathic person
It is clear then that being an empathic person is something very important today to face any situation in which we find ourselves during our lives. But what characteristics does an empathic person have? Some of them are the following:- Great listening skills to understand and help in any situation.
- They are sensitive to the problems of others.
- They inspire action and social change. High willingness to change things, always understanding and valuing all the options.
- They make others feel understood through their active listening and their great ability to understand how to react to difficult situations.
- High capacity for intuition.
- They do not absorb the energy of others.
- Calm and thoughtful people. Before contributing any comments or opinions, they think about how others might react when they hear it.
- Ability to feel what others feel.
- They speak taking care of the words so as not to hurt feelings.