We change our mind & behavior
When we come to have the freedom of choice
We didn’t previously perceive to have had.
Jean valjean stole,
Because he felt like he didn’t have a choice.
Once he did,
He changed.
When we tell others what not to do,
It can threaten what freedom of choice they perceive to have.
This is why our well-intended admonishments are often rejected.
Even when we tell others what to do,
We often stop at presenting options, not choices.
Options that fail to elicit the feeling of freedom.
Thus, this, too, are often rejected.
What master realizers of empathy do, is
Elicit feelings of freedom
In others and ourselves.
When this happens,
With no intention to change,
Change happens
As a byproduct.