I'm an empath.
That's different than having the ability to have empathy for others. It is an every day, every minute state of being. I'm not just able to understand how someone is feeling; I actually feel it as if it's happening to me, if someone is in pain it hurts me, and I want to take that pain away. Being an empath means I'm susceptible to unhealthy relationships and being taken advantage of, but it also means I'm kind, I experience joy when other people triumph and I am able to make genuine connections very fast.
It took many experiences positive and negative through my adult years to realize this about myself and come to a place where I embraced it. I had to decide that if I was truly going to live, I could no longer shield myself from the the emotions that were not so pleasant to feel, because otherwise I was just a shell of who I truly am, and the people I care about and myself would never benefit from the many positive aspects of being an empath.
Being a very logical person, I had always thought it was that part of my personality that was going to get me ahead in business. It was not until I embraced my emotional strengths and let the two work together that I experienced true success.
OK, so we aren't all empath's... And even using a little empathy can be scary, because emotions sometimes are negative, or the connection they bring may not be something you have the energy for. So we avoid communicating with emotion, especially at work.
Many of us operate with two personas, one for home and one for business. We stifle our true selves in professional settings, but by doing that, we also stifle creativity, happiness and true connections.
That's different than having the ability to have empathy for others. It is an every day, every minute state of being. I'm not just able to understand how someone is feeling; I actually feel it as if it's happening to me, if someone is in pain it hurts me, and I want to take that pain away. Being an empath means I'm susceptible to unhealthy relationships and being taken advantage of, but it also means I'm kind, I experience joy when other people triumph and I am able to make genuine connections very fast.
It took many experiences positive and negative through my adult years to realize this about myself and come to a place where I embraced it. I had to decide that if I was truly going to live, I could no longer shield myself from the the emotions that were not so pleasant to feel, because otherwise I was just a shell of who I truly am, and the people I care about and myself would never benefit from the many positive aspects of being an empath.
Being a very logical person, I had always thought it was that part of my personality that was going to get me ahead in business. It was not until I embraced my emotional strengths and let the two work together that I experienced true success.
OK, so we aren't all empath's... And even using a little empathy can be scary, because emotions sometimes are negative, or the connection they bring may not be something you have the energy for. So we avoid communicating with emotion, especially at work.
Many of us operate with two personas, one for home and one for business. We stifle our true selves in professional settings, but by doing that, we also stifle creativity, happiness and true connections.