Empathy is the ability to understand and share another person’s feelings and emotions. It is essential to building good relationships, both at work and in your personal life. People who don’t exhibit empathy are viewed as cold and self-absorbed, and they often lead isolated lives. Sociopaths are famously lacking in empathy. Conversely, someone who is empathetic is perceived as warm and caring.
The research shows that empathy is partly innate and partly learned. Everyone can improve, however. Here are eight ways to strengthen your own empathy:
Challenge yourself. Undertake challenging experiences which push you outside your comfort zone. Learn a new skill, for example, such as a musical instrument, hobby, or foreign language. Develop a new professional competency. Doing things like this will humble you, and humility is a key enabler of empathy.
Get out of your usual environment. Travel, especially to new places and cultures. It gives you a better appreciation for others.
Get feedback. Ask for feedback about your relationship skills (e.g., listening) from family, friends, and colleagues—and then check in with them periodically to see how you’re doing.
Explore the heart not just the head. Read literature that explores personal relationships and emotions. This has been shown to improve the empathy of young doctors.
Walk in others’ shoes. Talk to others about what it is like to walk in their shoes—about their issues and concerns and how they perceived experiences you both shared.
Examine your biases. We all have hidden (and sometimes not-so-hidden) biases that interfere with our ability to listen and empathize. These are often centered around visible factors such as age, race, and gender. Don’t think you have any biases? Think again—we all do.
Cultivate your sense of curiosity. What can you learn from a very young colleague who is “inexperienced?” What can you learn from a client you view as “narrow”? Curious people ask lots of questions (point 8), leading them to develop a stronger understanding of the people around them.
Ask betterquestions Bring three or four thoughtful, even provocative questions to every conversation you have with clients or colleagues.
Learn to Empathize and Build the Relationships that Truly Matter to Career Success.
(Content credits : Received content as a forward )
If your desire is to enjoy riches and wealth, then you need to create an environment for that to grow and prosper.
These 4 steps are key to bringing you closer to enjoying riches.
1. Set Your Money Goals
It ís time to get your pen and paper out, and make some decisions. What is your goal for earnings for the next 6 months? 12 months? 5 years? 25 years? Write it down and in addition create a dream board that is a vision of what wealth is going to look like for you. What are you going to do with your wealth? What are some of the things you are going to buy with your wealth? Think big and don’t hold back.
2. It’s Time to Track Your Spending Habits
It is time to create a journal of how you are spending your money. There is software that can help you do this tracking just where your money is going not just by where you spend it but by category as well. For example, entertainment, utilities, housing, etc.
3. You Need to Create an Income Stream
All around you are business opportunities and you don’t always require a large amount of capital to get started; however, you may need to think outside the box, change the way you are thinking about getting your start. You also need to set at least one goal and more is better. Here are some examples of goals:
My goal is to own my own business
My goal is to be my own boss
My goal is to have financial freedom
My goal is to be in control of my life
My goal is to create residual income
When you begin to focus on the goals that you set, you will actually reprogram your subconscious suddenly opportunities will begin to pop up everywhere. Isn’t that so exciting?
4. Don’t Be Afraid to be Generous
Be generous with your money. If you have not had money you might tend to want to hang on to your new found money and your growing wealth. But you need to begin to think and act like you have abundance and share it freely. This does not mean that you are being careless. It means that rather than giving the basic 10 % tip you give 20 %. It means helping someone that’s down on their luck, or it means sending flowers to someone that’s important to you. Make a pact with yourself to be generous once a week.
Do try these hacks to prosperity and let me know how it goes!
To your wealth and prosperity! I pray and send you prosperity blessings !
Who ever thought dreams can make you insomniac, like literally insomniac? Thousands of questions and doubts in our hearts, we take a leap of faith just to find the internal contentment. But sometimes, we just become too hard on ourselves. We forget that we have our limitations. The burden of dreams is like carrying an entire world on your shoulders. You must let that warrior inside you rest for a bit.
Not a long time ago, I was interviewing Lopamudra Banerjee, an entrepreneur, and a fitness coach. As soon as I made the announcement, I received a flood of messages in my inbox for Lopa to share her entrepreneurial journey. She is one brave soul. But I will tell you why this interview was a lot unique then what we see all the time. Lopa gave us all something to think about. From a sales professional to a personal fitness coach turned health entrepreneur, her journey says a lot about what happens when you choose to not take a break. Meanwhile, we hear people talking about breaking your limits and giving up everything for your goals, she shared the darker aspect of dreaming and overdoing things.
So, as per my rendezvous with Lopa, I will tell you what I have learned about the dreams and working too hard on yourself. Also, please do visit my Instagram page to find my interview with Lopa, and don’t forget to comment and share your thoughts on dreams. Also, please feel free to share your experience and how you found your warrior spirit.
Phase One: Opportunity knocks
When opportunity knocks our doors, what a time of merriment it is. You are filled with a reviving energy and you are ready to take the world down. But have you planned things the right way? Planning is an essential part of any journey. Do you just take a vacation to a place unknown without even checking the weather of the place? No, everything that we do, requires planning. Deep down we know going without plan is a lot adventurous and we all want to feel the thrill. But a smart person will always be prepared beforehand, so that when the weather is all stormy, they have a safe shelter.
Phase Two: Nobody tells it is going to be stressful
The actual story begins in phase two. Meanwhile, it is great that you are following your dreams, but the stress is just going to take a toll on your mind and body. It is going to break you and will make you feel helpless. If you are young your body will support you longer in the journey, but eventually depriving it of the needful rest, fun, and peace, you will notice your will starts to wither. The worst part is, you lose the quality at which you were always performing.
For many of us, it is important to give our 100% in whatever we do. But when you face work overload, are you still sure you will be able to keep up the quality? For any person quality is something which we all want to achieve. I am one of those people. Lopa is one of those people. You might be too.
It is essential in these times that we understand our limitations. We have to reinstate the lost balance. Sometimes, in the hurry to catch up with your dreams we leave behind the beautiful moments. We compromise our time with family to work hard. And in the end, we have to make do with whatever little connections are left with our loved ones.
Just like our body, the mind needs to rest too. But how to do that? It is constantly thinking, calculating your next move. Are things in your control when you are already juggling thousands of things at a time. In my conversation with Lopa ,I understood how badly restless she was while managing her growing business. It got her worried when a client did not get the results she promised. Though she never lost the business, it was too bad for her self-esteem.
As a result, things start to fall apart. Brick by brick you are back to square one with the burden of broken dreams. You must realize the importance of rejuvenating yourself. Resting your mind. Investing your time in knowing your limits and realizing when you are overdoing it. Empires aren’t formed in days or months, they take years. When we increase our pace, we forget we don’t have the energy to do it all ourselves. And also, you don’t have the resources to manage it.
Phase Three: Rejuvenating and Restarting Again
You don’t have to give up on your dreams. Take some time out of work and start working on your peace of mind. In the end, don’t forget you wanted to achieve this all to attain a great degree of self-contentment.
Understand where things are going wrong. Make a list of things that you will like to change from the last time. Start working on them. Choose wisely what and how much you want to work. Work exclusive if necessary. In the end entrepreneurship, job or business are not just about money, they are about gaining that expert badge.
Uncertainty is jarring. It stops you from following your dreams. It leaves you with no courage to walk the road you have always wanted to explore. And worst of all, it leaves you helpless and subjective to circumstances. Gradually, you start making up for inner peace by finding comfort in the cozy materialistic life you have weaved. But when your soul is suffocating; how much do you think you can hold up?
In my brief discussion with Suruchi Shah a life coach and entrepreneur, we explored various emotional and mental hurdles a person encounters during their self-discovering journey. One thing that inspired me to my core was the role of ‘Ikigai’ – the Japanese philosophy in transforming Suruchi’s and thousand others’ life.
Eager to learn, and share the knowledge what I found out, I dedicate this blog to ikigai and its role in achieving our goals. But, before we go further, do catch my exclusive interview with Suruchi Shah on my Instagram page. Needless to say, it will help you gather the courage to take the first step towards your dreams and how to mentally support yourself throughout your journey.
Ikigai for finding your passion
What is life like when you are not following your dreams? Probably mundane, unfulfilling. Each day waking up to an ear-piercing alarm clock you want to smash on the ground, peering through beady eyes and cursing the day ahead, how do you propose to change your situation. Why do we inflict so much pain on ourselves? Just because of fear of failure. It is downright sadistic.
It is our moral duty to keep ourselves happy. Work towards finding a reason to get out of the bed. And do one thing each day that makes you happy. At the end of the day, you would be able to answer your soul that you have done something that is taking you towards serenity.
Ikigai is nothing but finding that very reason. This Japanese art of living was formulated to help people find balance within themselves, connect with others and the world. It opens up huge possibilities for personal development. Ikigai emphasis on starting each day with positive thoughts. Switching between moments to chid away anything negative that stands between you and your ultimate goal. Simply put, it is not about how you finish your day; it is about a positive start.
Ikigai for finding courage within
Positive thoughts have a huge impact on our lives. They help you in creating a good mood and generate happiness for yourself and others. Each day when you wake up, no matter how cranky you feel force a good mood on yourself purposefully. It will motivate your body to work towards your dream the whole day and keep discouragement at bay.
It promotes focus. It will channel your energy, and allow you to take control of your mind and body to work harmoniously for what satisfies your soul. Happiness attracts happiness and sadness attracts sadness. A blissful life requires you to ignore the ruckus around you and enjoy the beauty of your goals.
Ask yourself, why are you in this world? What is the reason for being? What makes sense to you the most? Do you want to have a carefree life? or do you dream of becoming financially strong?
Find what makes you happy, what satisfies your soul. And don’t be afraid to set goals too high or too low. Just set an objective for being in this world and channel happiness and your efforts in reaching it. And your reason of being shall bestow energy, skills, ideas and ability to use them productively.
Ikigai for respecting your individuality
Right from the day we are born to the day we leave this world; we make connections with people. We engage with them to create emotional and physical bonds and in this course, we expect them to be understanding.
But mostly they are not. And you can’t blame them. Because nobody else is witnessing the battle going between your mind and soul. It is you alone who is going through the misery and know how disturbing it is. With this we come to two conclusions. One, respect people even when they are unable to understand you. And secondly, you don’t need their confirmation to get off that misery boat.
Ikigai encourages you to come of use to the world. It believes you have a special role in the community to play and you can create a positive impact. And, you can make a big difference in the society, just by helping yourself. Nature never gives birth to anything that is useless. The world needs you to realise your potential and work hard to reach your goals so that you can add to the greater good.
Ikigai doesn’t want you to think about yourself or have an opinion or belief about yourself. But it stresses you to find what you think about yourself in heart, body and mind. This alone unleashes infinite opportunities. Self-acknowledgement further protects you from making false assumptions about yourself and the world. It teaches you to respect difference in opinions and thoughts, meanwhile also respecting your own individuality.
Practicing Ikigai
Now that we have talked in length about what is ikigai, what does it require you to do, how does it help you in your entire life, here is how you can start practicing it.
Find what you love to do
It need not be your childhood dream, and it need not be something very realistic. It can be vague and you can redirect yourself later to change your goals again. Start by finding what do you love to do?
Scale it to a professional level
Do you see yourself enjoying what you love to do for a long time? What can you do to add value to it? How can you scale your present skills and abilities to reach pro level? Find answers to these questions.
Convert your passion into vocation
Financial uncertainties stop people from following their passion the most. For that, once you have found your passion, try to find vocation opportunities for your passion.
Add to the greater good
In the end it is all about how you can add value to yourself and to others. Most the time people leave this fourth leg of ikigai and fail miserably. It is very important that whatever you are doing should add value to not just yourself but to others too. Make it a mission. In the end ikigai is not just a personal development tool but a global philosophy.
Write us!
Thanks for staying till the end. I hope you loved to learn about Ikigai. Tell us if you knew about Ikigai already, or you have been practicing it. You can also share your experience and how it changed your outlook towards life and made you more positive in the comments below.
From living her dreams to becoming a catalyst in making people’s dreams come true, Deepti Arora has been my support system in finding myself. Each conversation adding something unique, positive, and valuable, I couldn’t wait when Deepti took some time out from her busy schedule to become a part of my vlog series “Warriors of Change”.
Today, Deepti is an entrepreneur and NLP coach at her venture – HealClinc. But once she too was juggling lemons and becoming creative in using them to sometimes make lemonade, or for that matter a tequila. So, without further ado, I will take you to different parts of my interview with her and what I have learned from it. Please do visit my Instagram page to find my full interview with Deepti.
Superheroes need to unwind too…
There is a superhero that breathes in us all. It would take a load of the entire world on its shoulder and forget to analyze what are their priorities. And when things are not under their control it would freak them out. This is not just tiring; it would just take away what superheroes are known for the most – the smiling face even when things are not right.
That doesn’t sound like a superhero, isn’t it? It is not easy to realize that you are incapable of juggling too many things. If you continue you are not just doing injustice to others but yourself too by stripping off the needful mind-body equilibrium.
Defining your priorities…
I remember reading somewhere, “life never throws at you a challenge so big that you can’t cope with”. It has been with me for a long time now and it has completely changed my outlook towards the bad phases of life. Life is not going to be same all the time. And if you ask me, happiness would lose its meaning too soon if we don’t encounter sadness. We will just forget to cherish the moments in the flow of life.
Sadly, we all go into trance. How to get out of it? How do you find the serenity and happiness in the times when nothing seems to go right? I will give you one hint. Starting owning your mind. Choose your battles. Accept the challenges and meanwhile, everyone would think you just have to jump… I would say no. Never enter a battlefield unprepared.
In modern terms, plan… plan… plan… until you have found the right way to defeat your challenges. Make a priority list and let go of the things that are stopping you from winning the battle. No matter how necessary they might be to you. No matter how attached you are with it. Let go of the things that will make you lose your balance because you have that rope hanging in the air to walk and balance alone is going to get you to the other side.
We are defeated by our prejudices…
Life is all about breaking our conceptions. As Deepti said, we are all here to learn something from our experiences. In the same way, we are stopped from taking the right decision when we limit ourselves in commonly found notions of society. It is necessary to challenge yourself to continuously widen our paradigm.
For example, A working mother, a father who is wanting to quit his job to start his own business, a boy learning ballet, or a girl playing football or cricket. Society accepts us to work in a certain cliché format. We have these affixed notions in the society which want us to align our dreams around it. But happiness and peace of mind won’t come until you are satisfying yourself. Self-satisfaction is not selfish. Depriving yourself of love and dreams is a sadist. Dream and make a plan for life, the universe will fulfill all of it in time.
Having a vision for things…
Not every opportunity you get in your life will pay off. We have been there when something sounds too good to be true, you follow that opportunity but eventually it starts to fall apart. But now, when you don’t have time to invest in each and everything, vision can help you. There is no eeny-meeny-miny-moe way to choose what will be best for you. But having a vision will help you understand whether things are aligning with your long-term and short goals or not. It will not just help you in finding the financial footing, but mental peace too.
Having a vision bestows you the power to say no to the things that don’t align with your goals. Here, patience helps you greatly. When you are drowning, naturally you will pick up anything that looks like a rope to keep you afloat. But it might be a snake in disguise that is going to bite you after. In those times you have that choice to learn to swim too. What will you choose? I choose not to take an easy way out, not without fully analysing it.
Being a warrior means taking charge…
A warrior too can lose the focus. Even when things are going according to you, make sure you are not going back to your old ways. What you have learned from life and variety of experiences mandatorily be adapted in your life, you just need to scale them as per your current situation.
Above all, respect yourself, and your goals. Never let anybody else hold the reins of your life because, in the end, you will lose the power over your dreams. With physical wellness comes the acute need of finding mental wellbeing. And we can’t ignore the role of financial stability all along. Revisit your goals, and plan your life as per your current achievements to find help in a long run.
“Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.” ~ Willie Nelson.
Life is like a rollercoaster; it has all the highs and lows. One minute you are at the top of the world and a few minutes later you are entering a scary, dark cave. In these grave moments, we must remember – this too shall pass.
In my conversation with Sujatha Keni, I got a chance to witness some of her challenges when 30 years ago she was diagnosed with cancer. Braving her rocky road with hope, courage, and positive thinking she is a turned leaf with more energy and life than ever before. So, without further ado, let’s start our bracing journey of learning how we can win any battle of life with positive thinking. Also, please visit my Instagram page to find my exclusive interview with Mrs.Sujatha Keni, and do like comment and share.
When light ceases to exist it’s time we light the lamp of hope
We humans have to make rigorous efforts to stimulate positive thoughts. Meanwhile, negative thoughts mostly come uninvited. The fear of difficulties, failures, and disasters can easily grip us to an extent where, no matter how much we try it feels nothing would change in the next lag of life – gloomy, sad and hopeless.
But why is that? How difficult it can be for our brain to continuously signal positive thoughts? If we go by science, it has a lot to do with the education and environment we are living in. A happy and positive environment is not just necessary for a child’s development but also, it makes a deep impact on the way he or she is going to react to difficult situations. In short, the practice of stimulating positive thinking starts from the very beginning.
We see through our eyes, but view the world with our mental attitude. Mental health and wellbeing play an important role in giving the “positive filter” to even the most difficult situations. Just is like wearing dark shades, our ambitions, and our circumstances appear dark. Your surrounding and outlook towards life become dark. Replace those dark shades with the rosy ones and see the change.
How to inculcate the habit of positive thinking?
– Try to look at things positively:
The law of attraction tells us how positive and negative thoughts bring out positive and negative experiences in our life. All across the world people have practiced it, experienced it, and have made positive thinking a crucial part of their life. For changing your life, you need to protect your will the most to overcome your bad situation. It helps you to plan your way out or gives you hope for the good yet to come.
– Expecting Positive Results:
When nothing seems right, you must realize and remember your long-term goals. Life is never the same all the time. If there is are dark alleys, it will also give you a chance to walk through beautiful gardens. Hope for positive results that are yet to come. Most of all if you are turning blind towards anything good, you might not even spot an opportunity that could change your life overnight.
– Don’t give up on your dreams:
The bad experiences in our lives come to teach us something. If something bad has happened to you automatically you become more cautious about your surrounding and for sure, you will be able to easily spot potholes in the path ahead. But, unlike the first time, you need to keep moving forward with more confidence and energy to struggle for survival. Use your past experiences to fight things strategically.
Small things to practice each day to overcome negative thinking
Here are a few steps that will help you take over negative thinking. Here are a few tips that can help you avoid negative thinking:
Every time a negative thought comes in your mind, replace it with a positive one.
Imagine yourself succeeding whenever you catch yourself visualizing failure.
Start using more positive words in your conversation, avoid negative words as much as possible.
Speak to yourself, and encourage yourself with powerful words such as “I can”. It will help you boost your self-esteem and give you the courage to experiment with new opportunities.
Never let the negative words and phrases go on look in your mind. Switch to positive ones. You will soon feel more alert and forthcoming towards making attempts to change your situation.
Give yourself some break from negativity and don’t be too harsh on yourself. Slowly make your way to a positive attitude.
Sit calmly and decide that from today from this particular moment you will leave the negativity behind and start a new phase – a positive phase of life.
Surrendering to divine
When something goes out of control and things don’t seem to make much sense resort to god and believe whatever happens it is your destiny and a test that you must pass. Search the divine in yourself. It will work as soup to your soul and will nourish you throughout your journey.
Along with hope and positive thinking, these were some tips that will help you in stopping the train of negative thoughts. Also, positive thinking needs positive actions to translate into change. It is a habit of mind and a very strong way to transform your life.
Photography : Kaushalya Kuwadekar capture of an angel formation in the sky
Many a times, you may have faced situations where you might have been in a tumbled situation. If you take a decision in a certain way, then it can harm you or your loved ones, and if you take it the other way, then it can harm you or your loved ones too. Generally, a person left in such a situation hears decisions from the mind. Very few listen to the decisions given by the heart. Those taking decisions from mind think it wise and logical. You must always hear the call of your spirit during these times. However, many people do not how to hear and talk with your soul or spirit. There is a secret, which if a person practices, can hear and talk to his or her heart to take the right decisions. So intuition comes from the “Heart”.
Most of the people cannot make the difference between a thought and a call of spirit. They assume it the same. Though both are nearly the same, there is a very little difference between the two. And, the only person who is able to understand this difference tastes real success. The difference is like differentiating between a glass of water and a glass of soda. Understanding the difference is essential if you want to grow up as a successful individual.
Intuitive guidance plays a major role while communicating with your spirit. Many people have this element of intuition more while many have this element less. However, by the help of meditation and spiritual guides, it is possible to attain this property of intuition. Intuition is like a message that you inner soul tries to convey you. It is different from thoughts. An intuition is always positive and if negative, then it is in the form of danger warnings. Always use discernment !
Intuition is like Footprints in the sand.All the way it was GOD who carried us , but we felt we were alone.
Intuition can be developed with Psychometry , Channeling , observing and noticing nature , communicating with nature / birds / animals , working with the clouds ,Angelic realm , Crystals , Sound , Smell etc.
Only when a person attains spiritual satisfaction, then he is able to reason out intuition from his or her soul. An intuition guides you, solves problems, helps you to alleviate from a stressful situation, and relieves anxiety and so on. Many a times, it has been seen that mysteries could be resolved by this property of intuition. Overall, it can be called a trust and faith in your inner self that leads to the attainment of the element of intuition. It must not be confused with confidence. Confidence is something different that is temporary. A person can lose confidence anytime, but if a person gains spirituality and intuition, then it is a permanent attainment.
Sync your brain AND heart, and you will find a coherence shift.
Your intelligence expands and your intuition increases making it easier to achieve success.
This “adding heart” instantly shifts your brain into a state of balance and makes it remarkably easier to function at peak efficiency.
This means you can profoundly change the nature of an exchange … a creative venture … a decision … your mental clarity … your physical power… your will power … your drive to achieve … all to enjoy greater success in life.
This Concept of 212 Degrees — one tiny degree between 211 and 212 degrees, Just like it is in life and business, the difference between running with the pack and leading the pack is that small extra degree of effort, focus, determination.
Source ~ David Natiuk
Though a dated one – we sometimes need to bring our emotions to the brim to have a breakthrough – Emotions such as Anger , Crying , Shouting , Screaming are all expressions of the body to release the blockages to progress towards the future reality or future personality.So the next time you need to keep yourself motivated just do quick check within yourself – are you giving your 200% or 300% to bring a change in your habits?
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