This is a good reminder for me. Empathy is the skill I should always use first and foremost.
I've needed it in every job I ever had, no matter the field or discipline. I should have used it in every conversation, discussion or argument I've ever been invited to, no matter the context or interlocutor.
Yet I keep failing at it. I truly admire and have immense respect for a lot of the people I interact with. And yes, this includes strangers I have never met. But more often than not, when I talk or write about something, I fail to tell them so by action or word.
I need to listen more, understand more, appreciate more. Not doing these is my biggest failure.
Thank you very much for this post. I'm still young(ish) by today's standards, but I keep wondering if I'll leave this world without ever mastering this skill.
This is a good reminder for me. Empathy is the skill I should always use first and foremost.
I've needed it in every job I ever had, no matter the field or discipline. I should have used it in every conversation, discussion or argument I've ever been invited to, no matter the context or interlocutor.
Yet I keep failing at it. I truly admire and have immense respect for a lot of the people I interact with. And yes, this includes strangers I have never met. But more often than not, when I talk or write about something, I fail to tell them so by action or word.
I need to listen more, understand more, appreciate more. Not doing these is my biggest failure.
Thank you very much for this post. I'm still young(ish) by today's standards, but I keep wondering if I'll leave this world without ever mastering this skill.
Thanks David, I know it's difficult and costs a lot of energy. But results are worth trying.