What if Irony is Judging Others for Lacking Empathy?
We often worry
whether the choices we make
may be right
or wrong.
The problem is
that we will never know.
Not because we wont know
after time has past.
But because as time goes by
more things will happen
that we may credit
or blame for our choices.
Given this,
the challenge may not be
making the right
or wrong choices,
but rather
developing the responsibility,
as in our ability to respond,
to the ever so complex situations we face
having made the choice.
Easy
may not be a choice
that can be learned.
But you can be
at ease.
When we hit the limit
of our current maturaion
we will always confront
a paradox
And we may not even recognize the paradox
because we would have jumpted to judgment
to squash the discomfort
of paradox
There are those
with the ambition
to change
the world.
I just want
to make my mother
happy.
When I remember
the moments when I was
happy
I was not in pursuit
of happiness.
When I rememer
the moments when I were not happy
I was in pursuit
of happiness.
Gratitude
has somehow became
a panacea.
“Be grateful.”
some say.
“Be honest.”
I say in response.
If you don’t feel gratitude,
you don’t feel gratitude.
What you feel
is what you feel.
I lack empathy.
Sometimes.
We all lack empathy.
Sometimes.
Let those
who’s never lacked empathy,
judge others
for lacking empathy.
Let those
who’s never seen others lack empathy,
judge themselves
for lacking empathy.
It’s ok
to complain.
In fact,
it can be healthy.
Except,
complain to someone
with skills.
The skills to summarize your complaint
far more succinctly
than you could
alone.
The skills to organize your complaint
far more clearly
than you could
alone.
The skills to guide your complaint
toward a resolution
you couldn’t reach
alone.
May we neither waste our complaint
on people who lack
such skills.
Nor leave such people frustrated
for lacking
such skills.
Stop playing to grow.
That’s your investors’ game.
Stop playing to survive.
That’s playing not to lose.
Start playing to win.
And play your own game.
100% of the CEOs
who bragged to me
about their exceptional empathy
were proven wrong
when I asked
their direct reports
and their family members.
Not because they lacked empathy
absolutely,
but because we all lack empathy
sometimes.
Except,
that sometime
may be a critical moment for some
enough for them to remember
that we were not there
when they needed us
to be there for them
the most.
