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When you say you empathize with someone, do their actions or words still bother you?

To continue the focus on authentic empathy, we will shift from an external view to an internal one. Rather than asking if people who understand you empathize with you, today I invite you to ask yourself a different question. Take a few minutes to contemplate the following question…

When you experience authentic empathy for someone, does that automatically mean that their actions and words will not bother you?

Experiencing authentic empathy for someone does not automatically mean you accept everything they do. If something they do violates one of your core beliefs, that action will still bother you even after you develop authentic empathy for them. Experiencing authentic empathy for someone can mitigate the effects of the actions you do not like. The good news is that, when you mitigate the effects of someone’s actions, you are more open to having an empathetic conversation with them. This conversation will give you the best chance to come up with a middle ground so that they can still be them and any stress you feel is reduced.

Having authentic empathy for someone means their words and actions do not bother you unless they violate your core beliefs.

How this applies to fear…

When it comes to fear and people’s actions bothering you, many of us feel that we should accept the actions of our friends and family. Many of us fear that if people’s actions bother us, it means we do not accept them for who they are. I invite you to see that you can both accept someone for who they are and feel bothered by something someone does when it directly affects you. When this happens, talk with the other person. That way, you can choose one of three ways to reduce stress on yourself. You can work together to figure out how not to let it bother you. You can figure out how to meet in the middle, so you are both happy. You can figure out that you must move on so that you are no longer exposed to that person’s actions.

How this applies to WACASHWI…

When it comes to WACASHWI and people’s actions bothering you, part of the process is to make more life-aligned choices. The more mental energy you can devote to the process the more successful you will be. When you empathize with someone and their actions still bother you, you increase your stress level. When this happens, talk with the other person. That way, you can choose one of three ways to reduce stress on yourself. You can work together to figure out how not to let it bother you. You can figure out how to meet in the middle, so you are both happy. You can figure out that you must move on so that you are no longer exposed to that person’s actions. Doing this will also empower you to put items on your list to move you towards you goal with that person.

Your daily invitations…

• I invite you to think about how you handle it when you empathize with someone. Does empathy automatically mean someone’s actions do not bother you?
• I invite you to think about a particular person in your life (past of present) and how empathy did or did not change the way you felt about their actions.
• I invite you to consider how changing your view of empathy as it relates to other people’s actions would positively affect your life.
• I invite you to write down your thoughts, feelings, and actions in your journal.
• I invite you to talk to the people you thought about above if it is safe to do so.

Final step – how will you implement one thing you learned today in your life?

This all is but one step in your journey to living a more stress-free life, beating the demons of fear, and raising your level of authentic empathy towards yourself and others.

I appreciate you!