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Empathy validation compassion for My Gratitude Project

Cognitive Bias and Empathy: Seeing the World Clearly | My Gratitude Project Day 15

November 15, 2025

What gets in the way of empathy and change? Mostly it’s what psychologists call cognitive bias. Cognitive biases are unconscious and irrational brain processes that literally distort the way we see the world. Psychologists have identified over 180 cognitive biases that skew how we perceive and remember events in the past and influence how hard we are willing to try or resist change in the future. Here are a few of the biases that come up a lot at work:…

empathy is non judgment for my gratitude project

Empathy and Body Language: Listening Without Words | My Gratitude Project Day 14

November 14, 2025

Gratitude Project

Sometimes we forget to pay attention to empathy and body language: the loudest clues that have no sound at all. Let’s take a moment to talk about empathy and body language. Our bodies are always talking, signaling how we really feel. Regardless of what our words say, our bodies give us away. Unless you are a professional poker player or actor, you probably don’t think about or control how your face and body posture broadcast your feelings to the world.…

Empathy Is a Gift: The Healing Power of Listening | My Gratitude Project Day 13

November 13, 2025

Gratitude Project

When empathy is a gift, friendship and gratitude grow. I remember the day that I realized that empathy is a gift. It was over 5 years ago, shortly after my mother passed away. My best friend called me up and asked if I wanted to take a walk. Yes, I said gratefully. How I needed some fresh air! We walked for about an hour, and she almost didn’t say anything. She just let me talk. Losing a loved one brings…

Everyday Empathy: The Skill That Makes Life Easier | My Gratitude Project Day 12

November 12, 2025

Gratitude Project

When you practice everyday empathy, life gets easier. Everyday empathy isn’t just a feeling. It’s a skill to use daily. My husband, Gary, is a master of empathy and it’s many uses. Years ago, flying home from visiting my relatives in Colorado for Christmas, we got stuck at the airport with our two young children, then about 5 and 7. We were supposed to fly out of a regional airport but when our plane was cancelled, Gary rented a car…

Empathy and Change: The Paradox That Transforms Us | My Gratitude Project Day 11

November 11, 2025

Gratitude Project

Ironically, empathy and change are more closely related than most people think. Empathy and change might seem to be opposites, but the secret of empathy is that it is what most people need in order to be ready to change. Resistance operates a lot like Newton’s Third Law of Physics. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. What it means is that forces come in pairs. It may not seem like it, but if you push against…

Acceptance: The Hardest—and Most Healing—Form of Empathy | My Gratitude Project Day 10

November 10, 2025

Gratitude Project

Acceptance is another powerful practice related to empathy. Acceptance is acknowledging the reality of a situation without judging or trying to change it. This is a powerful practice that many of us resist. When we do get there, it almost always leads to gratitude. For most people, this is the hardest part of empathy. Naturally, much of the time, we have a tendency to want things to be different from how they are right now. The world is far from…