During my years as a mentor with the empathy practice, I have learned something that has made me think a lot lately.
When offering and receiving empathy support, I have noticed that many adults tend to resist leaning into empathy. Instead of learning and practicing this skill, empathy exchange became a game. The goal is to win. By holding on to one’s opinions and thoughts (the power), rather than standing in someone else’s shoes, people approach it with preconceived opinions and judgments.
When we have decided that some people don’t deserve our empathy as adults, disconnection and polarization have become almost inevitable.
This rarely happened when I offered empathy support to children. Once I guessed their feelings and needs, they immediately began to imagine what it’s like for the kids they were mad at or disagreed with.
Empathy practice is a skill. Because it's a skill, everyone can learn it.
If empathy helps us build a better community and society, why don’t we start learning and practicing it at a young age in schools?
