…but now I am in a lovely school in Oman!!!
It was a tough 6 months…
Look after everyone
Step 3 – Offer Advice
Empathy is a two-part process. You take on the perspective of another person. You develop an understanding emotionally of what that person is going through. The second part involves action. You provide assistance of some kind. You try to help the person with their struggle.
One way you can do this is by offering smart advice. Remember to think about their situation and not yours. Don’t include any bias or judgment. Put yourself in their shoes and then give them advice to help them out of their problem.
Showing empathy means you care. It tells people you’re putting your own interests aside for a while. The three-step process we just covered can help you show empathy to the people you care about. You’ll find that you benefit as much as they do by making an emotional connection.
Step 2 – Validate the Experience
People often tell you what’s on their minds because they want you to validate what they’re saying. They need to know that it’s okay to have certain feelings or think a specific way. When you validate a tough situation, someone’s experiencing, you let them know they’re not alone.
You validate an experience by adopting the same feelings and emotions. Tell the person that you’re sharing the experience with them and that it’s okay. They should recognize whatever emotions are happening. Then the empathetic person tries to figure out what can be done to fix the problem.
Step 1 – Listen Actively
You might be a good listener. But are you an active listener? Do you just sit there with a blank expression and take in everything that’s being said?
An active listener uses body language, facial expressions, and eye movement to let the person speaking know that they’re engaged and present. They are truly and deeply listening.
You use open-ended questions to try to get more information from the speaker. Active listening uses anything at your disposal to get the speaker to share more information. You communicate to that person that their feelings are understood.
A Simple 3-Step Process to Practice More Empathy
An empathetic person can identify with what someone else is experiencing. They may have had the same experience before. This isn’t necessary to practice empathy. You might just be very good at putting yourself in another person’s mindset.
Someone tells you they lost their job. They’re going through so many different negative emotions. They’re concerned about their mortgage payment and other financial issues.
A person that loses a dream job could start wondering what happened. It took them a long time to get the job they always wanted. They might have been great employees. Then something occurred that was out of their control. Perhaps the company went bankrupt.
This individual could start questioning his own role in the failure of the company. A ton of different negative emotions might be experienced. The empathetic person can fully embrace the emotions the other person is going through even if they’ve never lost a job before.
You might want to help your friends and family members by displaying more empathy. You care about them and want to help them when they’re in need. If that’s the case, simply put into practice the following three-step technique for showing empathy.
Have a Great Day!
Techniques That Stop Anger in its Tracks – 2.
Do Something Grand
Take your anger and turn it into activism. How can you use this to change the world? Sign (or start!) a petition. Volunteer. Get involved in the community and make the world a better place.
Write About It
Journaling can help you to work through your emotions in a way that might even help prevent you from getting mad the next time around. Understanding what it was about the event which triggered you will help reshape the trigger entirely.
Switch Perspective
It can be hard to use empathy when you’re upset. But if you can see things from their perspective, it might help you to calm your response. Many times, anger comes from misunderstanding the situation.
Forgive
This technique falls under expert level of anger management. By being the bigger person and forgiving the other, you’ll find you no longer have reason to be mad at all.
The key to all of these is simple: don’t let anger take control. The last thing you need is for you to fall under the power of negative emotion. Use the anger to make a better place or let it go entirely. In the end, you’ll be happier you did.
Techniques That Stop Anger in its Tracks – 1
You can’t believe they did it. Of all people, turning on you this way. You want to react in kind, drawing on the anger flowing through you to lash out. Make the other person hurt every bit as much as you do right now.
Wait a minute. You can’t. You’re not that person. You don’t want to BE that person. You’re better than this.
But how do you stop anger in its tracks before it gets the best of you?
Take a Walk
The physical act of walking will burn off some of the adrenaline while getting outside, giving you a distracting change in scenery. And it works even better if you’re walking away from the object of your anger. Sometimes all you need is some space.
Pay Attention to your Muscles!
Like walking, exercise is good. Also, anger tends to tighten you up, so a good stretch, or even better practicing progressive muscle relaxation, will knock the tension out.
Say Something
Choose a pet phrase or mantra which calms you. Say it several times, slowly, and deliberately to put your focus elsewhere.
Visualization
Escape somewhere else. Remove yourself from the situation that has made you mad and find a quiet place where you can visualize something peaceful. Build in as much detail as you can to make it as real as possible. Stay in this vision until you feel yourself start to calm down.
5 Techniques for Using Affirmations to Enhance Your Relationship
Affirmations are powerful positive statements. You may be aware of them as a tool for self-improvement or to help you reach your goals. Did you know that affirmations can help improve your relationships with your partner, family, friends, and even your colleagues?
By choosing your words carefully and meaningfully, you can improve relationships in every area of your life.
- Show Empathy
You can use affirmations to show the other person that you see their feelings and acknowledge them. Affirmations can be used as a component of active listening. Listen to what they are saying, without interruption, and when you do speak, you reflect on what they said to you. You acknowledge where they are and give them space to vent or celebrate or just get their message across.
The key to showing empathy is to make sure you don’t contradict or negate their feelings. Don’t offer advice or give a contrary opinion. Just stand with them in their space.
- Be Authentic
Make sure your affirmations come from a place of sincerity. Don’t say things you don’t mean. Keep your affirming messages to the point and focused on the other person.
Affirmations that are economical with the truth or speak out of character will undermine your relationship, not build it. Make sure you speak from the heart. And you don’t have to use flowery language, just be nice.
- Tell Your Loved Ones They’re Loved
Saying I love you early in a relationship is easy. But as time goes on, it’s easy to let endearments slide. Get into the habit of telling your partner, your children, your family, your friends how much you love them. Don’t take it for granted that they feel loved, make sure they know it!
- Say Thank You
When was the last time you said thank you for a home-cooked meal? Or for proofreading your job application? Or even for taking the garbage out?
No act of kindness should go unacknowledged. Show your family and friends and colleagues that you appreciate what they do for you. Affirm their role in your life.
- Give Public Praise
Sometimes the best affirmations come in the form of public acknowledgment. Give credit where it’s due to your team members, your partner, and your kids. Show them you’re grateful and proud of them. Make it a point to acknowledge the extra effort and exceptional achievements.
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