I have severe Osteoarthritis in both of my hips. The pain become so severe that I had both of them replaced. One of the biggest benefits I had, for nearly two years, was the handicap tag for my car.
Before getting my placard, I’ll admit it would frustrate me to find no parking spots anywhere in the lot only to see a whole row of empty handicap spots. Ironically, when I COULD park in those spots, most of the time I found them taken!
Empathy is the ability to put yourself in another person’s situation and see things from their point of view. You can either choose to do it (difficult) or simply experience it (sometimes unintentionally). There is no substitute for actually experiencing it. It will give you a whole new appreciation for another’s experience.
The key of course would be taking those lessons and applying them continuously. Here’s what it would look like:
A boss being empathetic to an employee’s need to take off early to pick up a sick child (remembering he once had a boss who cut him some slack on that one).
- A Mustang (former enlisted) Naval officer remembering what it felt like to once be enlisted and showing empathy for their challenging and sometimes mundane job.
- A professor (who got their degree at night while working full time) showing a little mercy on a student who has given 100% effort studying but coming up a little short on a passing grade in a class.
- A busy business traveler being patient with a first time flyer who doesn’t understand the proper way to go through the TSA checkpoints (ok I’m still a work in progress on this one!)
My temporary experience with the handicap placard gave me a whole new appreciation for folks in those spots. It’s taken the actual experience to create empathy but it’s a lesson I won’t forget.
What opportunities have you had to practice empathy? Which experiences will you seek out to create it? Maybe something to think about this week.