Beyond Understanding

“What has happened since our last session?” I asked.

He’d been feeling bad for his employees.
He felt like he was failing them.
With guilt on deck,
underperforming employees fueled his resentment.
He was spending so much time and effort trying to be a better leader,
being understanding and supportive of them.
They, on the other hand, were not.

“I confessed my guilt to my employees.”
“What do you feel right now?”
“Relief.”
“What did you learn?”
“That all this time I was hyper-empathizing instead of empathizing.
That to empathize,
it’s not enough to understand.
I also have to be honest with myself and others.”

Empathizing is not merely about others.
It’s about the relationship between ourselves and others.
Let us not forget ourselves.