Here are 5 proven ways to cultivate empathy for others:
Indulge in Fiction:
“Empathy, humanity, and support for each other is more important than revenue, than growth,” said Eric Yuan, the CEO and founder of Zoom Video Communications, an American communications technology company headquartered in San Jose, California. Eric S. Yuan is a Chinese-American billionaire businessman, engineer, and owns 22% of Zoom Video Communications.
Well, a study in the Netherlands reveals that people who allow their minds to think about a fictional world that is written in stories, those people tend to be more empathetic. Researchers also explain that people who are very engaged in fictional narratives help them in increasing their empathy levels. This is known as narrative transportation theory. It means that if a person gets lost in a fictional story so there will be a good chance that the person will experience a change in their attitude, behavior, and ideas, that reflects the perspective that they learned for that story.
Spend time helping others:
Helping others without asking something in the back is what gives you a deep understanding of your social responsibilities. Research work in the London School of Economics explains that people who eagerly help others and volunteers are likely to be more happier than others.
Volunteering can help you to develop empathy in yourself and empathy helps you to stay satisfied in your life. If you improve your social bonding then it will let you keep the well-being of all the people at the forefront of your thoughts.
Become an active listener:
The quality of active listening is very important if you want to gain someone’s trust or faith. Active listening allows you to listen to a person very carefully and react on cue, this will also help you to understand their emotions and the other person will feel comfortable in sharing their problems with you. This will help you to connect with others more deeply. The more you practice active listening, the more you are able to read a person’s emotions through their words.
Practice compassion meditation:
Well, meditation can help you to stay calm and it gives you peace of mind but meditating especially on compassion can help you to become a more empathetic person. A study proves that regular meditation on compassion can help you become more empathetic over time.
Cultivate your curiosity:
Well, being curious about things can help you increase your empathy levels. It is also believed that people who are curious about knowing strangers have more empathy. It helps us to understand the feeling of the other person more deeply.
