How to really walk in someone’s shoes
We’ve all heard it: “Don’t judge someone until you have walked a mile in their shoes.”
But did anyone ever teach you how to walk in someone’s shoes?
The word empathy comes from the German term Einfühlung, which quite literally means “feeling into someone’s experience.” To empathize, you need to take the time to imagine yourself as being in another’s body or in their situation.
When we see someone who is in pain, we usually have an immediate and instinctive reaction, one that is sparked by our emotional response. We spend a minute or two imagining what that person is going through. This can help, but true empathy is so much deeper than that. We can find it by consciously engaging with the process of imagining another person’s experience.
Ask yourself:
What’s it like for them to go through their day-to-day life?
How has this challenge affected other parts of their life, like their work, their relationships, their health, or their beliefs?
When might life feel extra difficult for them?
True empathy is conscious and deliberate. While it isn’t easy, the rewards are tremendous: we all know how meaningful it is when someone takes the time to do this for us. We can extend that gift to others, too.
