Empathy is an emotional competence and a social skill that has great value in the life of the individual and for the community. But what is it specifically and what is it for? Also, is it possible to develop it?
Can you listen to the people around you? Not only in the sense of paying attention to what they say in words, but of reading their non-verbal cues and feeling what they feel inside you. This ability is called empathy and has a very important value for personal growth and evolution and in social relationships.
We at Junglam talked to Marina Osnaghi , the first Master Certified Coach in Italy, to find out more and to understand how to develop it and make use of it in everyday life.
What is empathy
The word empathy derives from the Greek and means “to feel inside” . But what? To answer is Marina Osnaghi, who explains that empathy is the ability to resonate with the emotions and feelings of others and make them their own.
This competence originates and is the basis of an attitude of real openness and welcome towards people and allows to establish relationships free from prejudice and based on the acceptance of others for who they are.
What is empathy for
As Marina Osnaghi observes, empathy is considered an emotional competence and a social ability and this double definition offers a precise indication of its value and its usefulness.
The ability to listen to the emotions and feelings of others and to welcome them within oneself is the lever that undermines prejudices and allows you to see people for what they are and to approach them without reservations or expectations built on beliefs spoiled by a self-referenced approach.
This attitude allows you to establish a correct, loyal and transparent communication , which in fact is the essence and foundation of true and constructive relationships . In cascade, a network of relationships based on trust and honesty generates a serene climate, marked by sharing and comparison, which has beneficial effects in terms of personal and collective evolution and growth .
As the Master Certified Coach explains, the positive power of empathy not only makes people open and receptive to the outside world, but also allows them (above all) to be who they are and to experience it fully.
In a society like the present one, which makes individualism, competitiveness and success at all costs its founding values, empathy is the force that can lead people to develop a new, more ethical and inclusive awareness and to rethink a model of existence in the name of the common good and in social harmony.
Empathy is an emotional skill and a social skill.
How to develop empathy
Empathy is an emotional skill and as such can be trained and developed. But in what way? Marina Osnaghi identifies three building blocks on which it is possible and necessary to act to succeed.
The first is self-awareness . As explained by the Master Certified Coach, only by learning to “look down on yourself” and becoming aware of your own nature can you resonate with others and accept them for what they are. Ignoring or denying one’s essence – for better or for worse – leads to a partial and flawed vision of the external world and prevents one from really getting close to other people.
Marina Osnaghi identifies the second constitutive element of empathy in honesty and humility . To mature self-awareness and look and listen to others without expectations and prejudices it is necessary to be transparent towards one’s emotions and feelings, dreams and needs and to cultivate curiosity and interest in what is different and little known or unknown.
Last but not least, the Master Certified Coach observes that only a real predisposition to change allows to trigger the process that leads to develop and increase empathic abilities. Leaving established habits and knowledge to make new experiences and meet new people leads you to face and overcome your limits and to implement and enrich the emotional heritage that allows you to read and understand others. In other words, to resonate with them.
