Empathy is a critical skill that will help improve your relationships, your listening skills, your management quality, emotional intelligence, and general sense of well-being and belonging in society. That’s a pretty tall order! Empathy, in a nutshell, is the ability to identify with the emotions and feelings of others. Having empathy means you’re able to connect better with those around you. This leads to deeper relationships and connections to others.
Empathy is a skill like any other, and can be learned. So don’t be discouraged if you don’t think of yourself as particularly empathetic. This page has lots of helpful resources to help you on your way to growing your empathy skills.
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CGInspo Articles and Podcasts
Click here for all our posts and podcasts relating to Empathy!
You’ll find tasty goodies like an introduction to empathy, a podcast on active listening, how to increase your empathy, and some of the pitfalls and things to watch out for.
Articles and Websites
- The 3 Types of Empathy | Enid R. Spitz | Heartmanity
- What Is Empathy and Why Is It Important | Jennifer A. Williams | Heartmanity
- Brene Brown on Empathy vs. Sympathy | Kate Thieda | Psychology Today
- 7 Intricate Differences Between Empathy and Sympathy | Lifehack
- Empathy vs. Sympathy: What’s The Difference? | Jennifer A. Williams | Heartmanity
- How to Avoid the Empathy Trap | Robin Stern, Diana Divecha | Greater Good Magazine
- The No BS Guide to Protecting Your Emotional Space | Jennifer Chesak | Healthline
- How to Talk to Someone With Empathy – And What To Avoid! | Jennifer A. Williams | Heartmanity
- Can You Have Too Much Empathy? | Marcia Reynolds, Psy.D. | Psychology Today
- The Three Kinds of Empathy: Emotional, Cognitive, and Compassionate | Enid R. Spitz | Heartmanity
- Burnout Prevention and Treatment | Help Guide
- 10 Ways to Build and Preserve Better Boundaries | Psych Central
- 5 Ways To Become More Self-Aware | Harvard Business Review
- How to Be More Self-Aware: 8 Tips to Boost Self-Awareness | Develop Good Habits
- 10 Steps to Becoming More Self-Aware | PsychCentral
- Increase Your Emotional Intelligence Through Self-Management | Peoria Magazine
- Do social media foster or curtail adolescents’ empathy? A longitudinal study | Helen G.M. Vossen, Patti M. Valkenburg
Infographics
Books
Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy | Sheryl Sandberg
While this book is focused mostly on resilience, there’s also a lot in here about empathy and how to express it successfully to someone going through something traumatic. I recommend it for several reasons!
Emotional Intelligence 2.0 | Travis Bradberry, Jean Greaves
Empathy is just one part of emotional intelligence, but a big one! This is one of the better books I’ve read about emotional intelligence in general.
