There is zero correlation between IQ and emotional empathy... They're controlled by different parts of the brain.
Daniel GolemanRead
Self-absorption in all its forms kills empathy, let alone compassion. When we focus on ourselves, our world contracts as our problems and preoccupations loom large. But when we focus on others, our world expands. Our own problems drift to the periphery of the mind and so seem smaller, and we increase our capacity for connection - or compassionate action.
Interpretation
Focusing on others fosters empathy and reduces self-centeredness.
This quote by Daniel Goleman emphasizes the importance of empathy over self-absorption. When we are overly focused on our own issues and worries, we limit our perspective and compassion; however, when we shift our focus to others, we not only mitigate our own concerns but also enhance our ability to connect and act compassionately, broadening our world and our understanding of human experience.
In practice
In a speech about community service, one might say this quote to emphasize the importance of helping others.
There is zero correlation between IQ and emotional empathy... They're controlled by different parts of the brain.
Empathy represents the foundation skill for all the social competencies important for work.
In a very real sense we have two minds, one that thinks and one that feels
Emotions are contagious. We've all known it experientially. You know after you have a really fun coffee with a friend, you feel good. When you have a rude clerk in a store, you walk away feeling bad.
Companies in the East put a lot more emphasis on human relationships, while those from the West focus on the product, the bottom line. Westerners appear to have more of a need for achievement, while in the East there's more need for affiliation.
What really matters for success, character, happiness and life long achievements is a definite set of emotional skills - your EQ - not just purely cognitive abilities that are measured by conventional IQ tests.
I believe in order that I may understand.
There are men who struggle for a day and they are good. There are men who struggle for a year and they are better. There are men who struggle many years, and they are better still. But there are those who struggle all their lives: These are the indispensable ones.
I suppose the thing I most would have liked to have known or been reassured about is that in the world, what counts more than talent, what counts more than energy or concentration or commitment, or anything else - is kindness. And the more in the world that you encounter kindness and cheerfulness - which is its kind of amiable uncle or aunt - the better the world always is. And all the big words: virtue, justice, truth - are dwarfed by the greatness of kindness.
What is the next step, the practical application? —I will answer that the absolutely vital thing is to consolidate your understanding, to become capable of enjoyment, of living in the present, and of the discipline which this involves. Without this you have nothing to give.
Gratitude arises from paying attention, from being awake in the presence of everything that lives within and without us.
You're never wasting your time as long as you learn from every single thing you do, whether you feel like those attempts are successful or not.
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