Often you will hear the terms sympathy and empathy. At first glance, the two terms sound similar so many people think they mean the same thing. However, sympathy and empathy are actually two different conditions. What are the differences between sympathy and empathy? Check out the following review.
Differences Between Sympathy and Empathy
In our daily conversations, we may often use the words sympathy and empathy to describe our feelings. Although both words are used in situations involving emotions, they cannot be used interchangeably as they have different meanings.
The main difference between sympathy and empathy is the way we express and feel emotions towards someone's situation. As reported by Verywell Mind, the differences between sympathy and empathy are as follows:
Sympathy
Sympathy is the ability to feel pity, concern, or compassion that comes from seeing the distress experienced by others. In sympathy, you may not be able to feel the pain felt by the other person. You only see and infer from what you see and do not delve into the feelings felt by the other person.
Empathy
Empathy is an ability to feel and understand other people's feelings. This ability does not always happen because you have experienced the same situation, but you are able to feel the emotions of others because of your high emotional sensitivity.
The ability to empathize is a skill that needs to be cultivated in leadership because it can help you see problems from different perspectives so that you can make the right decisions.
An easy way to distinguish sympathy from empathy is to analogize the feeling of sympathy using greeting cards at the store. When you feel sorry for a friend or relative who is going through a difficult time, you can send them a greeting card.
It is a form of sympathy, where you feel pity or concern, but the feeling is not so deep that you can put yourself in their shoes and imagine yourself in the situation. Therefore, you can feel sympathy even without empathy.
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Which One is Better, Sympathy or Empathy?
Both sympathy and empathy are positive things and both need to be cultivated in every individual. With sympathy, you show that you are willing to care about the conditions of others both around you and in other parts of the world. Sympathy is also associated with moral behaviors such as cooperation, sharing, non-discrimination, and willingness to support, help and protect others.
On the other hand, empathy is essential for building deep personal relationships with others. With empathy, you can understand the other person's point of view, making it easier to communicate effectively and solve problems together.
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How to Foster Sympathy and Empathy
Although sympathy and empathy are two different things, you can do a few things to cultivate both attitudes, namely:
- Practice reading between the lines of the surrounding environment
- Avoid giving direct advice, but put yourself in the other person's shoes and imagine what they need.
- Practice being a good listener, ask questions and try to understand how others feel.
- Understand the emotional state of others and believe that every emotion felt by others and yourself is valid.
Cultivating an attitude of sympathy and empathy needs to be done from an early age. Associating with many people, joining communities and being active in various social activities can also help foster empathy and sympathy.
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