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when in doubt try empathy for My Gratitude Project

Eight Practices of Empathy That Strengthen Connection | My Gratitude Project Day 9

November 9, 2025

When we break it down, empathy becomes a number of small acts and practices of empathy. Here are a few practical and tactical practices of empathy, with special thanks to Caroline Fleck and her excellent book on Validation: Whatever you call it and whatever you do, use these empathy skills to keep your mind on their experience and help you understand them. Try various ways to show you get them and see what works best for you. This post is…

Be yourself everyone else is taken for My Gratitude Project

Naming Feelings: The Next Step in Empathy | My Gratitude Project Day 8

November 8, 2025

Gratitude Project

When empathizing, there is another step beyond mirroring: naming feelings. If you want someone to know that you empathize with them, try naming their feelings. Naming feelings can be a little tricky because you can’t ever 100% know what someone else is feeling. The key is to listen closely enough that you can imagine what you would feel in that situation. If you have listened enough to understand their circumstances, it’s just a small leap to name how you would…

let someone else go first as expression of empathy and gratitude

Mirroring and Trust: The Science of Empathy at Work | My Gratitude Project Day 7

November 8, 2025

Gratitude Project

Mirroring and trust happen without trying, but when we learn to do it consciously, magical things happen. Mirroring and trust are naturally related. Most of the time when we mirror each other, we are not aware of it. Mirroring or copying someone are natural and innate ways that we comfort each other, bond, and build trust. However, when you can bring mirroring into your awareness and use it as a skillset, it becomes a technique for comforting, bonding, and creating…

Mirror Neurons and Empathy: We’re Wired to Connect | My Gratitude Project Day 6

November 6, 2025

Gratitude Project

Innate mirror neurons hardwire us for empathy. We are born with mirror neurons and empathy, which promote the emotional connection we need to thrive. How we use empathy in daily life determines how well we create the bonds that satisfy our human needs. Yesterday, I wrote about copying someone’s words as a way of signaling that you hear them and at least, that you are interested in hearing more from them. But actually, mirroring or copying doesn’t require words at…

How Tactical Empathy Turns Conflict into Connection: My Gratitude Project Day 5

November 5, 2025

Gratitude Project

One step beyond feeling empathy is tactical empathy, or what some people call, validation. Tactical empathy is the act of letting another person know you see them, you hear them, you understand them. To be effective, validation has to resonate with the other person as if they said it themselves. The easiest way to do this is to mirror what they said, or copy it. Hearing their own thoughts from another person’s mouth is a powerful experience. This is a…

Empathy vs Sympathy: Why One Heals and the Other Distances | My Gratitude Project Day 4

November 4, 2025

Gratitude Project

Empathy vs sympathy: they sound alike but they are quite different. We feel sympathy for someone and, in contrast, we feel empathy with someone, that’s the difference between empathy vs sympathy. Feeling sympathy for someone implies a certain distance. It’s more like feeling pity for someone. They are feeling something that you are not. They are struggling, and you are not. When you empathize with someone, you feel what they are feeling. So rather than distancing, it is bonding.…