Maybe it’s her shoes, or his shoes. ADD, sympathy and empathy – It’s a common known fact that many ADD’ers will experience a challenge when trying to be empathetic or sympathetic. The good news, this challenge can be overcome and I’m living proof of that!! So are many others.
If you think you feel just like another person, are you feeling empathy? If you just feel sorry for another person, are you feeling sympathy? At times you might find yourself in a position in which you’re with someone who doesn’t have the same viewpoint as you. I know I have. In fact I just had a get together with one. At least I enjoyed the drink (ha-ha).
While trying to feel just like another person or feel sorry for another person is a practice that many people use to better understand a situation or viewpoint, it is not always what it appears to be. I’ve developed a process that takes me a little deeper into a situation and helps me to really understand what is happening on the other side of the fence, to use an analogy.
A great example would be the get together I just had, which I referred to above. Basically, I found myself in a situation where I could not grasp what this person was trying to express. I took a different thought process of internally questioning every thing, such as any person or outcome that could possibly be impacted by this persons view point. That really helped me to dive deeper into truly understanding the many aspects of the situation and what the impact of that situation could be elsewhere.
For me, simply trying to feel sympathetic or empathetic is about digging deeper and questioning inside myself…… the unknown factor of who, what, why, where and when? On occasion, the right situation will allow you to ask those questions out load. Trying to look at another person’s perspective or situation on one level is a hard thing to do. I like to look at that person’s perspective or situation on many different levels.
Remember, a situation is not always what it appears to be. A man was driving home from work one day, he stopped to watch a local Little League baseball game that was being played in a park near his home. As he sat down behind the bench on the first-base line, he asked one of the boys what the score was. We’re behind 14 to nothing, the boy answered with a smile. Really, said the man. I have to say you don’t look very discouraged. Discouraged? The boy asked with a puzzled look on his face. Why should we be discouraged? We haven’t been up to bat yet!.
