You’re doing great, and we want to remind you of that.
Everyone knows them. The World Improvers. People who make history. They change the world for the better. To all of you: Thank you for being there. We can be proud of you. A toast to every one of you.
I would like to use these words today for many more people. Yes, almost like a small award ceremony. If you thought it was over, but there is still a prize to be given.
To all the people who have remained friendly today. Those who don’t take themselves too seriously. Those who are present for others. Those who also smile on bad days. Those who do their work conscientiously every day. Those who thank you in traffic for kind behavior. Those who offer others their place in the subway. Those who are genuinely willing to help others. Those who always greet you in the streets.
Thanks to you. You always make our world a little bit more worth living in tiny moments. And I don’t know if you are aware of that at all.
More than just a definition
Our world has become so hectic. We have no time for anything, it seems. No time for attentiveness. No time for the extra five minutes. Everything just needs to function. But if you take a closer look, you can still find a lot of what I personally see as empathy or empathic behavior. By definition, the meaning of empathy is the following:
The ability to understand and share the feelings of another.
For me, empathy goes even further. The moment I am friendly towards another person, I am empathetic. Why? Because I don’t know their mood and how my behavior might affect them. This may sound a bit excessive in the first instance, but it can be applied to millions of small situations every day.
BOOK RECOMMENDATION
The Power of Now – Eckhart Tolle
In todays world we often loose the ability to see and feel what is happening in the moment. How do we stay
present? While we are eating, seeing, smelling.
Eckhart Tolle describes how we can be present again. He is taking us away from our never ending thoughts and brings us back to the present moment. This book is a must read.
A smile on your lips, a good feeling in your stomach
Today’s traffic in many cities belongs to the crème de la crème of stress factors. Every driver needs concentration, consideration, and nerves of steel. A situation everyone knows is the nonverbal communication with other drivers. For example, in terms of priority. Traffic is mostly regulated by different traffic signs, but at certain points it is regulated by interpersonal communication and signals. I am always delighted when people thank me for individual gestures in road traffic. It is probably one of the smallest gestures a person can make. But it means so much to me. I see it as a sign of genuine friendliness. They appreciate, that I put their needs first in the simplest way possible. An interaction like that often leaves me happy for the rest of the day.
Understanding and consideration in all areas make our world enjoyable to live in. We must not lose that. Each individual contributes to a respectful coexistence. Interpersonal relationships are what shape us. No matter how short or small, they may be.
A friend told me a story the other day. He spent several days at a festival. In the standing area in front of the grandstand, it was packed. People got knocked out one after the other. What he saw next was the helpfulness of each individual. Rescue lanes were formed and everyone took care that the people got to the paramedics.
How Can We Define the Term Mindset?
“You need a good mindset. Your mindset is everything. Mindset accounts for at least 75% of your success.” But what does that actually mean?
It makes me very happy to hear such things, as I no longer take them for granted. There are innumerable negative examples, innumerable moments in which civil courage failed. But I don’t want to go into that any further because that’s not the point here. We do not have to write an article about bad acts. At least not here.
I have reflected on some of these examples and listed a few things that will help us to be more empathetic in our day to day live:
Say thank you for every little action — I am always surprised by the power of a simple thank-you. Why should our counterpart not know that we are grateful to him or her for their words, actions or gestures — no matter how small or large they are?
What comes around, goes around — I am a big fan of this saying, and try to face people with a maximum of friendliness and understanding. I am particularly amazed when I hear statements like: “Nobody can cope with him/her, he/she behaves very strangely.” I very often disprove and say: “I was able to connect with him/her very easily.”
Learn from others — I once heard that people in restaurants take over the bill from strangers. So if a person in your radius seems likable to you, you can pay his bill. Of course, you don’t have to put this into practice literally. The point for me is that your environment can also set positive impulses in the direction of empathy.
Give more compliments — Instead of regularly comparing and criticizing ourselves, we should appreciate or admire certain things about us more often. Let’s work together for more positive energy.
Be aware that you are a good person — Don’t stop your good behavior. We all experience disappointments and difficult times. Sometimes it seems impossible to overcome these phases. I only ask you to preserve your unique nature and smile.
In all of us, there is a small World Improver. Every day, we help each other and put each other on the right track. We should not become careless or forget about the point above. We should continue. It is important that WE all remind ourselves of this. I am happy to share these thoughts with you.
“The great gift of human beings is that we have the power of empathy, we can all sense a mysterious connection to each other.”
― Meryl Streep
