Hey!!! I missed y’all last week for Monday Motivation! To be completely honest, I was struggling and needed motivation for myself. So I took some time to to detach for a minute. Well, technically not by choice. My underlying stress has been hitting my mind, body, and spirit and set me back a little. I know I know. Y’all probably like “what does she have to be stressed about? No kids, job, House, car. Living the good life.” Well there are stressors that come with maintaining “the good stuff” and y’all don’t see the tough stuff in between the good moments. But anyway, I’ve been doing a lot of reflection and have made the decision to show more empathy for others who are going through things. Naturally and professional I do this as a Social Worker, but I know there are a few times when I ignore peoples stress and dilemmas and basically tell them ain’t nothing to worry about.
I feel like empathy is the difference between just saying encouraging words and actually meaning it. It’s validating feelings. Not necessarily agreeing with feelings, but showing that you’re present, acknowledging the emotion and the source of the emotion, reflecting/ summarizing how one feels, and putting yourself in their shoes. It’s understanding the hurt that someone feels even though you don’t share the same feelings/situation. It’s being available when that person is ready and needs help moving forward. That’s what I’d want and need from others and that’s what I‘ll give. So this week I challenge you, and myself, to show a little more empathy and validation of emotions. Because awareness of feelings, is basically love in its simplest form. It’s a tough skill. But with practice, I think we all would be more emotionally in tune with ourselves and others. So love on yourself and someone else.
Dear Future, 
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