When was the last time that you made yourself vulnerable and shared your pain with another person? How did they respond? How heard, understood, and supported did you feel?

Experiencing difficult emotions makes you feel raw, open, and sometimes sensitive. If your natural tendency is to shut down because that’s what you’ve learned, it takes effort and intention to open your heart and share. You’re lucky if the other person truly listens to you and shows empathy—because that’s what you need. Many people will give you advice or try to fix things for you. Such a response feels unsupportive and frustrating when all you need is for someone else to understand how you feel.

Now let’s reverse the roles. How do you show empathy when a loved one or a friend shares their personal pain?

Today’s vlog is practical—it’s time for you to get to work! Grab your journal and a pen and prepare to write down the tools for giving and receiving true empathy!

I share 5 skills you should develop for showing up with empathy and 3 solutions for those times when you share your pain with a loved one but don’t feel supported.

We all have empathy within ourselves. We just need to learn how to use it while staying real and true to ourselves.

Please share in the comments area: What’s your takeaway about empathy?

Shine on,

Michal