“Empathy is the starting point for creating a community and taking action. It’s the impetus for creating change.” – Max Carver
We think Max Carver got it right and that if we truly care about community building and making positive changes in the world, we have to invest in learning about how to become even more empathic as empathy is at the heart of true understanding. We asked some deeply empathic leaders to share their perspectives below.
Phoenixx Rose
I developed my empathy after I learned first hand not many people possess this quality. Really, growing up an overweight cisgender woman who’s parents were Jehovahs Witnesses, I got to experience how people treated you based on your weight, skin tone, sexuality and aesthetic imagery. I used to get teased a lot growing up and that really hurt my feelings. Read more>>
Anthony Galizia
Thank you for allowing me to speak on this topic! There are a few main conditions that come to mind when asking what allowed me to develop empathy. It has been a combination of experiences and opportunities throughout my life. Growing up, I was always told to put myself in other people’s shoes. My family taught me the importance of listening to others and trying to see things from their perspective. This laid the foundation for me to be more empathetic and understanding. Read more>>
Chasline Fontenot
The definition of empathy is the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings of someone else. I believe my personal struggles and my desperate need for grace allows me to emphasize with others. Whom has been forgiven much, loves much. It’s also a prayer I pray every day, for a heart that is selfless and to connect and encourage others to honor their feelings, no matter what they may be. Honor to heal. Read more>>
Jordyn Tourville Hernandez
My empathy comes naturally within myself as a soul. If you know anything about “Human Design”, you can easily find out if you are an empath or not as well. Being a spiritual empath is painful most of the time when you initially think of it, but its way too easy to pick out the negatives. Through consistent trial and error, I have learned the hard way. Most of the time it is hard to distinguish your emotions apart from others or the situations that can cause empathetic feeling. Read more>>
Kayla Mainja
This is a part of my life I rarely share or talk about until recently more and more individuals have asked me. What is your why? Why are you here? and why do you keep doing this? Interesting enough, when I left for college I wanted to venture the world and experience all of the things I was always told that I could not. Read more>>
Joseé Muldrew
I’m a firm believer that my empathy has been a product of being exposed to both fertile and barren ground. Since I was young, I’ve been placed in conditions that have challenged me, required me to have cognitive flexibility, and given me the skills to practice acceptance, understanding and compassion. Read more>>
Conor Dubin
Empathy is a huge idea. The third book in may series is called “Princess Arrainee and the search for Pet Hamy.” and Pet Hamy is an anagram for empathy. On the surface, the book is a story about a princess that has lost her pet pig, Hamy, but if you replace the the pig’s name with Empathy, the reader can understand the book’s deeper message. Specifically, what empathy is, how we lose it, what the world looks like without it, and how we get it back. I believe empathy is the “gateway drug” to gratitude and I believe it is one of our greatest strengths when we can access it. Read more>>
John Eisen
That’s one of the best questions I’ve been asked in a long time–WOW! I think certainly going through my own challenges, at several points in my life…things happening to me, my family, my friends. I think you realize, hopefully, at some point that everyone faces very real challenges. And we may have it “together” to a certain point—but we all have things in our lives we cannot control. We all face things that are beyond us, and we need the support of people around us, or faith, wherever and however you can find the strength to keep going despite whatever you are up against. Read more>>
Dr. Andre Caruso
As a Psychologist and Behavior and Mindset coach, empathy is one of the main things I teach and speak about. Empathy is one of the most important traits we can have as humans. Unfortunately, it is also fairly misunderstood. A common misconception about empathy is that it always involves feeling the same emotions as another person. However, empathy is NOT simply mirroring the emotions or sharing some of the same feelings as another person. Read more>>
Francesca Petrolo
Good question, I guess I passed through many conditions in my life. Starting from my childhood. Living with my parents had never been easy. They always being hard to talk to and to do things together. I think I suffered so much that I know what the bad part of, everyone, life can be. I can feel either the suffering that the happiness of the people. Read more>>
