[Intermediate] The importance of empathy

 *gyrus 뇌의 회로

 

★ temperament 기질, 신경질적임

the part of your character that affects your moods and the way you behave

ex) Their temperaments are very different.

 

★ empathy 공감, 감정이입

the ability to share someone else's feelings or experiences by imagining what it would be like to be in that person's situation

ex) Having answers is not as important as showing empathy .

 

★ hardwired 타고난, 내재된

If someone or something is hardwired to do a particular thing, they automatically do it and cannot change that behaviour:

ex) Humans are hardwired to love fattening foods.

 

★ marginal 미미한, 중요하지 않은

very small in amount or effect

ex) Brewing is a marginal cost business .

 

★ sensation (자극을 받아)느낌

the ability to feel something physically, especially by touching, or a physical feeling that results from this ability

ex) Use of icepacks helps alleviate the heat sensation.

 

★ extent 정도, 규모

area or length; amount

ex) We don't yet know the extent of his injuries.

 

★ reflex 반사작용

a physical reaction to something that you cannot control

ex) I'm sorry I punched him, it was a reflex

 

★ dwell on ~을 곱씹다

to keep thinking or talking about something, especially something bad or unpleasant:

ex) So you made a mistake, but there’s no need to dwell on it.

 

★ genuinely 진정으로

really and sincerely

ex) I'm genuinely sorry for what I said.

 

★ two way street 상호적(쌍방향) 관계

A situation in which both sides must put forth an equal amount of effort to achieve a desired result. Respect is a two-way street—you have to give it if you expect to receive it.

ex)

 

★ commonality 공통성

the fact of sharing interests, experiences, or other characteristics with someone or something

ex) They found a commonality in discussing their experiences.

 

★ moral 도덕상의

ex) relating to the standards of good or bad behaviour, fairness, honesty, etc. that each person believes in, rather than to laws

ex) It's her moral obligation to tell the police what she knows.

 

★ apt to do something / be something ~하는 경향이 있는

to be likely to do something or to often do something:

ex) ] Young people are apt to be influenced by foreign culture.

 

 

Quizzes

1. Parents are ________ expect too much of their children.

2. I can hardly realize the full ________ of his loss.

3.He did not know that a marriage is a  ________.

4. I shut out the memory which was too painful to ________.

 

 

Questions

Q. What is an empathy?

Q. How can we imporve our empathic skill according to this video?

Q. Do you think you are a good listener?

 

 

Script

We all live in our own version of reality. A reality that is limited by ours senses, our temperament and our own experiences. It is only reality we will ever truly know but it is crucial to our personal development, our relationships and to society itself that we make the effort to try and experience other people's realities as well. This is done through empathy. Simply stated, empathy is an active attempt to understand another person's perspective, their emotions, and in essence, their reality. We are social animals and our ability to communicate and understand each other's emotional states is key to maintain our relationships.

 

So it is a little wonder that the ability to empathize is hardwired directly into our brains. One area that assists in this process is the right super marginal gyrus, which helps us to distinguish our own emotional state from that of another person and plays a key role in our ability to observe and assess what other people are experiencing. Studies from neuron science journals sugggest that we have systems of mirror neurons in our brains that cause us to mimic the actions of others that is why when we see someone yawn we will often yawn and reply and when we observe someone experiencing joy or pain we experience the same sensation  to a certain extent but these reactions are primarily driven by subconscious reflexes. In order to be truly empathic, you have to actively think beyond yourself and your own concerns. You can develop this empathic skill by practicing some simple habits.

 

Be observant of others. We tend to spend the majority of our day dwelling on ourselves, caught up in our own daily routines and digital distractions. But taking the time to observe others around you is good first step in developing your empathy. Watch and wonder. Try to focus on the person's state of being rather than categorizing or labeling them. Ask yourself what kind of day are they having,how they are feeling. Challenge yourself to genuinely care about their well-being. Curiosity about others is the first step to expanding your empathy.

 

Use active listening. During a conversation especailly a heated one, most poeple fomulate the response before the other person even finishes their statement. This form of communication is more verbal combat than an exchange of ideas or opinions. Avoid this reflex by slowing down rather than rushing to reply. Take a moment to consider the other person's statements. Ask follow-up questions to better understand with a speaker intended. Try to understand their emotional state and the deeper motivations behind the statement. What life experieces led them to their current worldview? Remember you don't need to share someone's opinion in order to understand it and acknowledge it. And listening will help inform and expand your opinion.

 

Open up. Learning more about other people's experiences is a key element to seeing the world through someone else's eye. But it is also important to open up about your own feeling and experiences. Empathy is a two-way street that at best is built upon mutual understanding. Through a combination of uncovering the deeper motivations of someone else's position and expressing our own underlying concerns, we often discover a shared commonality even with those who hold different beliefs than ours. Through the practice of keeping an open mind, empathy helps us challenge prejudice, find commonality and expand our moral universe. Without it, we are apt to label people outside our circles as the other, the problem or the enemy. These labels draw lines in the sand that prevent us from moving forward or growing. It cuts us off from the realization that the human experience is a shared experience. We have much more in common than we think and are really just seeing small variations of the same reality.

 

 

Answers

apt to/extent/two way street/dwell on