How Empathy Changes The World For Better

Most us see at least one homeless man a day. 

Some of us might spare him money while others will just walk away, averting eyes, while their faces portray disgust. What is the difference between the people who give the homeless man some money or even a kind glance and others whose faces are filled with revulsion? Simple, its empathy. Empathy is nothing but the understanding of another living thing’s feelings, be it human or animal. To quote author Daniel H. Pink, 

Empathy is about standing in someone else's shoes, feeling with his or her heart, seeing with his or her eyes. Not only is empathy hard to outsource and automate, but it makes the world a better place.

Did you know that the world empathy was introduced in 1909 by Edward B. Titchener, a psychologist who translated the German term einfühlung which means “feeling into”?

Importance of empathy

Most of us understand our feeling and what we want at any moment. Empathy, however, lets us understand the feelings of other people. To put it simply, it allows us to “walk a mile in another person’s shoes.”

So how does this empathy make the world a better place? Educator Stephen Covey was of the opinion that, 

When you show deep empathy toward others, their defensive energy goes down, and positive energy replaces it. That's when you can get more creative in solving problems.

Certain studies have explored the neurological and cognitive processes that function behind empathy. Scientists have discovered that brain’s different regions such as anterior cingulate cortex and anterior insula work when we experience empathy. This quality leads to helping mentality among people and aids in our relationships among people which leads to a better functioning society.

How empathy helps the society

We humans are social animals. We need contact within our society to survive and flourish. Therefore, it is important to understand others and their feelings. This will definitely give us an edge over people who cannot empathize. Whether you are studying or working, empathy always comes into play. Giving your notes to a sick student or extending a person’s deadline for his or her project because of some tragedy at home makes all the difference in your life. Good relationships are built like this.  

It is proven that empathy makes you perceive other people’s feelings even if they are cannot vocalize it all the time. This non-vocalized understanding also helps you communicate better and understand what is going on in that person’s life. You also become better at handling conflicts as you realize everyone has a side to their story and might not be completely wrong. Like singer Matt Bellamy said, “Empathy seems to be seen as a weakness. We condition people to withdraw it to succeed. But really, it needs to be re-seen as a strength again if there is to be any kind of hope in the world.”

 Not only does empathy help us spread, well, empathy by making people convince everyone has a point of view but also broadens your horizons by experiencing what the other person is feeling. At an extremely basic level, empathy is what makes us humans.

 Let us end with a quote about empathy by activist Tarana Burke,

An exchange of empathy provides an entry point for a lot of people to see what healing feels like.

DISCIPLINE: The Quality That Ensures Success

DISCIPLINE is the BRIDGE between GOALS and ACCOMPLISHMENT

The first President of the United States once said, “Discipline is the soul of an army. It makes small numbers formidable; procures success to the weak, and esteem to all.”  Truer words have seldom been spoken.

Since our early childhoods, we have been told we need to be disciplined to lead a successful life. But what exactly is this concept, and do we really understand its nitty-gritty? Discipline is simply following a particular code of behavior in order to make the right decisions to move ahead in life. To quote actor Michael J. Fox, “Discipline is just doing the same thing the right way whether anyone's watching or not.”

Restrain is something everyone in the world has a hard time following. This is what distinguishes a leader from the laymen. It is this strength that forms your decisions and, in turn, makes or breaks you as a person. To follow this restrain, discipline is vital. Discipline also brings a structure to a person’s life and lets him or her be responsible.

Another important aspect of discipline is how it helps society from descending to chaos. As it takes people discipline to make the right decisions, it promotes good behavior, which improves society as a whole, thus making it a happy place to live and prosper.

Now let’s take a look at how it helps students. Every student is required to put in a certain amount of hours to keep track of their curriculum and flourish. However, this practice requires discipline. All of us have had moments where we wanted to slack off and not pick up our books in spite of knowing that is not good for us. To maintain the restrain to study hard and not laze around we need discipline. Like the author, Gary R. Blair said, “Discipline is based on pride, on meticulous attention to details, and on mutual respect and confidence. Discipline must be a habit so ingrained that it is stronger than the excitement of the goal or the fear of failure.”

This is also the case with workplaces. No organization would want to retain an individual who has no discipline in his or her work. People at the top of the businesses would naturally show such discipline and restrain and thus expect all their employees to follow suit. Simple actions such as turning up on time or finishing a project on time, all require discipline.

If you look at sports also, you will find the top players are extremely disciplined and hardworking. Former athlete Julie Foudy once said, “Sports build good habits, confidence, and discipline. They make players into community leaders and teach them how to strive for a goal, handle mistakes, and cherish growth opportunities.”

Studies have shown that most people respond to instant gratification, which might not be always possible in life. Therefore, it is important to see that all of our actions will have long-term effects. To understand such effects and to work towards them, we all need to be disciplined. This will also give you the ability to overcome obstacles that stand in your way.

Remember what Lal Bahadur Shastri said, “Discipline and united action are the real sources of strength for the nation.”

CONFIDENCE : How to Attain the Elusive Confidence

Confidence : Value you possess and behaving in a way that others know your worth

“You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.'” It was Eleanor Roosevelt, former first lady of the United States, who said these profound words about one of the most important quality we are told to have always.

What is confidence?

So, what exactly is this quality and why is it so important? Confidence is nothing but the value you possess and behaving in a way to ensure others know your worth. It is critical because confidence is important to succeed and, if you observe, the advantages such tenacious people have is nothing that can be easily dismissed.
If a person behaves like his self-worth is low, then people will simply not be invested in him as much as the confident person. However, it is important to ensure that your confidence does not border on arrogance. Then it will have an adverse effect on your social status.

How it affects work

It is no surprise that confident people climb the social and career ladders faster than anyone else. Like Canadian actress, Tamara Taylor said, “As long as you keep going, you'll keep getting better. And as you get better, you gain more confidence. That alone is the success.” To attain this level of confidence, it is important that children, as early as primary school, receive the right amount of confidence-building exercises and appropriate criticism. According to a study by the University of Texas, students were found to improve their performances if their teachers had confidence in the former.

How to improve confidence

Most of the time, the advice we get is “be confident,” without any further explanation about how to attain this elusive quality. But, there are some scientifically backed activities that will help you gain confidence.The primary is working out. Any exercise lets your body release endorphins that automatically make you feel good. Once you finish working out, you are also left with the feeling of doing something constructive to help you lead a healthier life.

•  Take an effort to dress better. Analyse your wardrobe and check what looks good and what is just merely a rag. The style of your dress and how in sync it is with you will dramatically increase your confidence.
• Increase your knowledge. Be it politics or sports or whatever is happening in your neighbourhood, keep yourself aware. This will help you lead the conversations you have with people and avoid awkward pauses, which will inevitably make you seem confidence.
• Enter competitions are that in your forte. As you win more competitions, you will see an evident spike in your confidence levels, which will help you go on to participate in other contests that may be not near your talent level. You might lose then, but you will not be dejected.

Remember what Alyssa Edwards said, “When I take good care of myself, it lifts my spirits, boosts my confidence, and makes me feel strong. When someone tries to throw me shade, it bounces right off. I look those haters straight in the eye, keep my chin up and shoulders back. Because I know I'm a fierce queen - and they know it, too,” and walk with your head held high to conquer the world!

TheIndieWay's pick : 5 Best Books to Read on CONFIDENCE:

BLISSFUL

Nothing is more important than reconnecting with your bliss. Nothing is as rich. Nothing is as real. - Deepak Chopra

What is Bliss?

It was American author Joseph Campbell who coined the phrase “follow your bliss.” He said, “Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls.” What exactly is this bliss? It is nothing but a perfect state of happiness.

How do we attain it?

Now the question arises -- how do we attain tddhis so-called bliss and can it be maintained throughout our lives? Being blissful is simply finding happiness in doing any simple task assigned to you. Then you will realize that when you follow your bliss, you will attain happiness and a deep satisfaction and fulfillment will be a constant part of your everyday life.

Of course, most of the time, we all are happy in chasing small portions of happiness and forget about the larger picture. But the kind of bliss Campbell mentioned isn’t fleeting. Its pervasive and comes with an abiding sense of doing the most mundane of tasks. This includes working for the best we can achieve, not settling for anything less and pursuing the never-ending process of acquiring knowledge.

For everyone, the meaning of bliss would be different. For renowned author J.K. Rowling, it was, “And the idea of just wandering off to a cafe with a notebook and writing and seeing where that takes me for a while is just bliss”. Swami Vivekananda proclaimed, “Practice meditation regularly. Meditation leads to eternal bliss. Therefore meditate, meditate.” Whatever the path might be, the end result has always been bliss.

It is not always easy to find bliss in every activity we do as most of us are bogged down by familial and societal pressures. We might have assignments to finish, projects to vet and bills to pay. During such times, it is important to remember how incredibly lucky we are. Amidst all these pressures, we are alive and thriving. That in itself is a form of bliss, isn’t it? Never forget the bliss that comes with a day when nothing bad happens.

Why is BLISS Important in Life?

If you are wondering what is so great about this bliss then read on! A constant by-product of bliss is peace, which is something the society desperately needs now. When you are not at peace, then under-confidence, fear, and pettiness creep into the conscience of a normal human being and this naturally affects every decision or step he takes. Due to this, nothing worthwhile will be accomplished, which will lead to problems in a developing society. Therefore, it is important to realize that there is nothing that cannot be achieved if you can bring long-lasting contentment to our mind. A society where the people are not blissful will not function for long.

We should always remember what author Alice Walker said, “Creation is a sustained period of bliss, even though the subject can still be very sad. Because there's the triumph of coming through and understanding that you have and that you did it the way only you could do it. You didn't do it the way somebody told you to do it.”

TheIndieWay's Pick : 5 Best Books to Read on BLISS:

AMBITION

Ambition : A Strong Desire to Do or Achieve Something

What is it?

Ambition can be simply defined as a desire to achieve something. There is no denying that the world is part of a never-ending rat race. To some, it might seem like a meaningless pursuit, while for others it is part of their daily lives. The inspiration for this competition might come from various arena's but the most consistent quality would be ambition. The most successful people in this world did not reach the epitome of their fields by accident. They were hardworking and, importantly, ambitious. Hence, this strong desire and determination to succeed is a crucial part of success.

Is it Important?

To quote American politician Bill Bradley, “Ambition is the path to success. Persistence is the vehicle you arrive in.” Being ambitious is a commitment. If a person is committed to something with all their hearts, they will do whatever is required to attain what they desire. The person who desires to be successful will stop thinking and start planning. He or she will start learning, building and, maybe, even failing. But to get back up, pat yourself down and start working again, the person needs to be ambitious more than anything else.
In a movie, Johnny Depp’s character famously said, “My ambition far exceeded my talents.” This quote might seem simple but speaks volumes. Ambition not only surpasses skills but also means. Think about it! Having talents or resources would not help anyone if a person is not ready to work towards making something of it. If you look at the history of civilization, it was the ambition of human beings that drove them to move away from mediocrity and make the most of the resources available in nature and so on and so forth.

What's in it for me?

Let us now look at opportunities. Due to the divide in society, not everyone might be able to get the same opportunities. But, do we all make complete use of the chances available out there. What sets the people who benefit from the support systems apart from those who do not? Simple; being ambitious. It is this quality that makes successful people take initiative and make things happen. Ambition is the perfect catalyst that pushes people over the limit to fulfill their dreams.
Often, ambition gets a bad reputation. Maybe it is because sometimes people are aggressive in their pursuit of success and forget to be kind. So, it is imperative that such people are generous by nature. Like writer Robin Sharma said, “Be a warrior when it comes to delivering on your ambitions, And a saint when it comes to treating people with respect, modeling generosity, and showing up with outright love.” It is also important to note that not all ambitious people lack value or ethics. Most of the time it is a mistrust which needs to be changed. While keeping aside this apprehension for ambitious people, everyone must remember it is an ambition that drives people to do great things.
It is also crucial that we teach our children the power of ambition and with it the outstanding quality of dreaming big. They should also be reminded that ambition must work to benefit the society and its people in general.

TheIndieWay's pick : 5 Best Books to Read on AMBITION: