Gratitude Project - Lisa D. Foster, Leadership Coaching & Training

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Preparing for Empathy: 5 Questions Before You Begin | My Gratitude Project Day 29

November 29, 2025

As you would with any other important conversation, take time to prepare for empathy. Preparing for empathy will help you improve your results. If you want to use empathy tactically to influence somone, take time to prepare. Empathy as a skill is not to be taken lightly. Here are 5 questions to prepare yourself before you try to empathize with someone else. 1. What are their motives? Consider what they are doing now and their reasons for doing this. Do…

when in doubt try empathy for My Gratitude Project

Gratitude and Empathy: My Tools for Healing | My Gratitude Project Day 28

November 28, 2025

Gratitude Project

For me, gratitude and empathy aren’t just professional skills, but deeply personal ones. In my experience, they are closely related. When everything feels like it’s crashing down and problems seem to be everywhere, these are the tools I turn to. I myself have had dark times, days when tears wouldn’t stop, when darkness was everywhere, and I felt broken and lost. The reasons don’t matter anymore. At that time in my life, I turned to mindfulness and meditation to bring…

let someone else go first as expression of empathy and gratitude

Thanksgiving Gratitude: A Little Empathy at the Table | My Gratitude Project Day 27

November 28, 2025

Gratitude Project

It’s Thanksgiving. Empathy and food — is there a connection? I don’t think so. Let’s all just be grateful today for the food we have, and empathize with those who are hungry. And if you have a crazy uncle at the table who starts trying to spout his views, don’t confront them. Spend a moment trying to empathize and understand and validate them and then go back to eating. It will keep a little peace at the table, and more…

Empathy and Turkeys: A Thanksgiving Reflection | My Gratitude Project Day 26

November 26, 2025

Gratitude Project

Empathy and turkeys — a half-serious post on the day before Thanksgiving? Should we empathize with turkeys? This is treacherous moral ground, and I am of the opinion that in our morals, we must each be guided by our own conscience. Vegans don’t eat any animal products, often because of a sense of empathy with them. I respect that. I also know that domesticated animals wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for farming. Most farm animals wouldn’t survive in the wild—or…

Animal Empathy: What Horses, Crows, and Dogs Teach Us | My Gratitude Project Day 25

November 25, 2025

Gratitude Project

Animal empathy? Research suggests that many animals empathize just like we do—or at least sort of like we do. The basis for animal empathy is mirror neurons, which were actually first detected in monkeys rather than humans. Researchers observed that the monkeys’ brains were activated in the same way whether they were grasping an object or watching another monkey grasp an object. That is the magic of mirror neurons and empathy: whether we do it or see it, our brain…

Why Some People Struggle with Empathy | My Gratitude Project Day 24

November 24, 2025

Gratitude Project

When an office has a difficult employee, leaders come to me asking why some people lack empathy. It is common to believe that some people simply lack empathy. I understand why some people believe this, even though every human brain (and many animal brains) have mirror neurons in our brains that hardwire us for empathy. So, why do some people seem incapable of understanding others? I’m not qualified to discuss the effects on empathy of neurodiversity conditions like autism, narcissism…