Show Empathy

. Step 26:

 The wrong we do to others and what we suffer are weighed differently. Empathy alone is a very important characteristic of a positive personality. People with empathy ask themselves this question: "How would I feel if someone treated me that way?"

 A PUPPY

•  A boy went to the pet store to buy a puppy. Four of them were sitting together, priced at $50 each. Then there was one sitting alone in a corner. The boy asked if that was from the same litter, if it was for sale, and why it was sitting alone. The store owner replied that it was from the same litter, it was a deformed one, and not for sale. The boy asked what the deformity was. The store owner replied that the puppy was born without a hip socket and had a leg missing. The boy asked, "What will you do with this one?" The reply was it would be put to sleep. The boy asked if he could play with that puppy. The store owner said, "Sure." The boy picked the puppy up and the puppy licked him on the ear. Instantly the boy decided that was the puppy he wanted to buy. The store owner said "That is not for sale!" The boy insisted.The store owner agreed. The boy pulled out $2 from his pocket and ran to get $48 from his mother. As he reached the door the store owner shouted after him, "I don't understand why you would pay full money for this one when you could buy a good one for the same price." The boy didn't say a word. He just lifted his left trouser leg and he was wearing a brace. The pet store owner said, "I understand. Go ahead, take this one." This is empathy.

Be Sympathetic

 When you share sorrow, it divides; when you share happiness, it multiplies.

 What is the Difference Between Sympathy and Empathy? 

Sympathy is, "I understand how you feel." Empathy is, "I feel how you feel." Both sympathy and empathy are important. But of the two, empathy is certainly more important.

 When we empathize with our customers, employers, employees, and families, what happens to our relationships? They improve. It generates understanding, loyalty, peace of mind, and higher productivity. How do you judge the character of a person or, for that matter, of a community or a country? It is very easy. Just observe how the person or community treats these three categories of people:

 1. The disabled 

2. The elderly

 3. Their subordinates 

These are the three groups of people who cannot stand up as equals for their rights.

 Be a Better Person 

Resolve to be tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and wrong. Because some time in our lives we would have been all of these ourselves. --Lloyd Shearer, 1986