Unpacking Empathy
UNPACKING EMPATHY - THE EMPATHY EQUATION
(I am not trying to define empathy here, rather trying to unpack it)
What if empathy could be structured as an equation - one side being UNDERSTANDING and the other ACTION.
Both sides need to balance for the equation to work.
‘Understanding’ is prerequisite for effective ‘action’.
‘Understanding’ side (being sensitive to others’ condition) can be unpacked as follows:
i. AWARENESS - “I am aware of myself and my surroundings”
ii. PERCEPTIVENESS - “I am sensitive to my way of thinking and to conditions, needs and feelings of people around me”
iii. PERSPECTIVE - “I have perspective to understand other person, their needs and feelings”
‘Action’ side (intentional action with compassion) can be unpacked as follows:
i. KNOWING - “I see and I know the state you are in”
ii. FEELING - “I go through the same experience as you”
iii. DOING - “I act with compassion to alter the situation positively”
It is humanly tough to feel what others are feeling.
We can at least start by forming a sensitive understanding of others’ condition.
Action with compassion is perhaps the best manifestation of empathy.
I have been trying to find answers to questions around empathy. Would love to hear from you all:
1. What are the ways in which we can strengthen our mental muscle ..
a. ..of being more AWARE of ourselves - how we think, behave and act?
b. ..of being more PERCEPTIVE than we are at this moment?
c. .. of gaining PERSPECTIVE other than what we have?
2. Is there more to either side of empathy equation?
I am prototyping a workshop on topic of ‘DESIGN MIND - HOW TO DEVELOP METASKILL OF EMPATHY AND EXPERIMENTATION’. [Inbox me if you are interested to know more and participate]
