empathy not apathy
august 10, 2021 | WORDS BY emily rappold
“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view … until you climb in his skin and walk around in it” - Atticus Finch.
If you are familiar with “To Kill A Mockingbird”, this is something that Scout learned early on as a child and is part of the human experience.
This quote has stuck with me and is something that I try to apply in every scenario of life. Most importantly, in my career as a professional Coach. It is a trait that I challenge everyone - no matter what you do in life - to practice and implement in their daily lives. I’m not saying you need to love and be friends with everyone; but what I am saying is that you never know where people are coming from. All it takes is one smile, one open-ended question to connect, relate, and create a member/client/relationship for life.
On the other end of the spectrum, all it takes is a RBF, zero questions, and no engagement to deter people from whatever you have to offer. All I can say is, you just never know the difference you are making in someone’s life, simply by smiling or asking how their day is going.
Empathy is defined as the capacity to understand or feel what another person is experiencing from within their frame or reference, that is, the capacity to place oneself in another’s position. I realize that this is a broad scope of emotions, physical states, etc. but if we look at the big picture, it all comes down to one thing - being relatable and approaching scenarios from an empathetic state, not apathetic. I am not saying we need to over-sympathize and hold someone’s hand until the very end, but let’s show some compassion, intentionally listen, and come from a place of love and care. This is an opportunity as Coaches to assist an individual in seeing their self-worth and assist them to push towards new limits that exceeds everyone’s expectations.
It isn’t until you are truly able to see things from someone else’s perspective are you able to effectively coach and make positive change. We just need to start doing it.
