Personal Branding & Leadership Coaching

Empathic people feel the pain of others acutely. Is it possible to be too empathic? Could feeling too deeply for someone else’s pain or sorrow actually hurt you?   

Indeed, too much empathy can be debilitating. When we become too distressed about the suffering of others, we don’t have the cognitive and emotional resources available to do much to help them. Having compassion, a cognitive understanding how they’re feeling, is better for our own well-being and the well-being of those in need.

 

Via Edwin Rutsch

Empathy vs Compassion: Which One Rules You?
What about empathy?

Empathy alone doesn’t get the job done, either.  A friend of mine shared a piece of her art with me yesterday. Now I don’t understand art. I never have.  Looking at it always makes me feel like a five-year-old in a calculus class. Utterly lost. I think to myself: Are these good paintings or bad paintings? What am I meant to take from this experience? 

And: Why are you showing me this?  Why don’t those dancers feel silly?

But this time was different. As she shared her art, I cried the whole time. I had no idea what I was crying about, only that the weight of tears was unbearable.  They had to be let go.

Via Edwin Rutsch

Recent research shows that having a culture of compassion may not only build a happier workplace but also improve an organization’s bottom line. When we are supportive of one another there is often higher performance because team members feel valued and appreciated for their contributions and want to add more. Show compassion.

Via David Hain