EMPATHY: The Secret Weapon for Thriving in a Divided World!  In this episode, we talk about a surprising conversation that opened my eyes to the importance of EMPATHY… especially right now!  (That’s right… 2020!)  In this episode, you and I take a deep dive into the power of empathy.  But more importantly, we give you some tools, some strategies and some science!  Plus, we introduce you to the idea of “JOY SHARING.”  That’s right!  It’s a concept that can help you to experience more joy and share it with others too!  I think you’re going to dig it… so let’s get to it!   RESOURCES MENTIONED IN EPISODE: EPISODES MENTIONED: My interview with BEN STEIN:mitchmatthews.com/history-doesnt-repeat-it-rhymes-with-ben-stein My interview with LINDSAY PALMER: mitchmatthews.com/lindsay-palmer-create-your-opportunities\  MINUTE BY MINUTE: 0:02 What to expect today 1:15 Storytime 4:48 The power of empathy 7:34 Healing division 11:57 Empathy’s connection to happiness 14:24 One of Mitch’s favorite quotes 18:56 Share more joy feel more joy 21:19 Connect with Mitch MORE ON THE EPISODE:  Over the 4th of July… our family got together with one of our favorite people… Ben Stein.  He’s a history teacher our boys had.  He has a true passion for history, government, politics and the human condition.  We got together… socially distanced and safely of course.  We got caught up and then we did what we do… we started to talk HISTORY and current events.  We had an AWESOME conversation. We didn’t agree on everything… but we brought up issues of the day… as well as linked stories to our history.  Some of the stuff… we totally agreed on and some of the stuff… we didn’t.   But we were able to have this deep… enlightening… fun… awesome conversation.  Family was there.  We were pigging out on all sorts of unhealthy food too.  Which I’m sure helped. But at one point… I asked a question.  It was partly hypothetical… and partly because I legitimately was open to his answer. I said, “Okay… we’ve talked about a ton of different issues… some of which we’ve agreed on and some not so much, but it’s been amazing. You’ve opened my eyes to some things, and I think I may have pointed you to a few things too.   What’s at the heart of that? He responded with one word.  “Empathy.” We were willing to have empathy for each other. It was sooooo true!  Now… I’m fascinated by psychology, communication and interpersonal dynamics.  I get lost in leadership theory.  So, of course, I knew the word.  But in that moment… it just hit me.  It was a truth I needed to be reminded of! Empathy. In the moment… I totally agreed… and then we moved on to more topics.  But the concept of empathy stuck with me.  So I kept digging into it.  And some of the things I’ve found led me to believe that it is truly the Secret Weapon for Thriving in a Divided World! Seriously… I don’t want to over hype it… but the growing science and understanding behind EMPATHY is incredible.  I dug in and I wanted to share a little bit of you… so you could understand this Secret Weapon better… and use it more. Because when you understand empathy… you tend to connect with people at deeper levels, you create more trust AND… some new research is pointing to how empathy can actually make you a happier person too!  So let’s dive in.  EMPATHY DEFINED: One Definition for empathy is: "The ability to understand the feelings of another.” It does NOT mean you need to agree... but simply the willingness and ability to understand and honor the feelings of another person.  Another definition is: “The ability to sense other people's emotions, coupled with the ability to imagine what someone else might be thinking or feeling.” A third says, “Empathy is simply listening, holding space, withholding judgement, and emotionally connecting with another human being.” And right now... this is sooooo needed and sooooo healing!