022 • The most priceless gift you can give
022 • The most priceless gift you can give
Hello again,
Today I'd like to build on an idea I shared earlier in the week. It's that by simply using empathy you can improve the experience of others by almost managing some of their emotional burden for them.
I will touch upon some more practical uses of this, as well as some limitations in this newsletter issue.
Recently I've used this to good effect to reduce emotions of stress of a close person in my life. It helps if you can offer advice or your thoughts on a situation, but truly understanding and empathising can be enough to help.
Whether sharing a positive emotional burden with someone or a negative one, you should be outside of your mind for the experience. Try to understand how the person empathised with is feeling and do your best to improve their experience through your understanding.
Your wants and desires don't enter the equation at all. They're not relevant. What's important right now is that you enter the emotional frame of the other and attempt to improve what they're experiencing.
It's not necessary to have wealth to give this gift, but it's one of the most priceless things that you can provide to another person. By focusing your mind, which costs nothing except a little effort, you can give your gift to others at any point of the day.
A life where you've improved the experience of others is, fundamentally, one worth living.
Share the emotional burden of others.
Just a short one from me this week, but it's a message that I feel strongly about. Try it - next time someone close to you is emotional, enter that person's frame of emotions and improve their experience.
See you next week!
What I’ve written this week…
The real reason why you should set number-based goals - An alternative view on the benefits of setting number-based targets and goals.
Share the emotional burden of others - This piece is related to what I covered above and it goes into more depth about why connecting emotionally works and how you can do so.
My most popular post on X this week…
Quote of the week…
"Let no act be done without a purpose, nor otherwise than according to the perfect principles of art." — Marcus Aurelius, Meditations