Empathy….what about sympathy?
23 Feb 2011 Leave a Comment
I believe it is important to have sympathy, or empathy for others. This allows us to feel what it is like in another person’s shoes.
Yes, it is hard to understand why people believe what they think is true and correct. There are to many ways to determine how a person turns out. There is nurture vs nature, and them there is locus control. An individual’s level of autonomy has an affect on a their decisions in life choices and a sense of freedom. The higher the level of autonomy, the increase of those feelings. Some people tend to have an internal locus of control. These people think that they have the power to control the future. Other individuals have internal locus of control. What these people believe is that their fate is pre determined by chance, or they believe in a god, or the one God.
When compared to externals, internals achieve more in school, act more independently, and have greater physical and psychological well-being. A person who aligns him or herself with incremental theory is always open to change and improvements, therefore they view their freedom as a personal choice to make the changes needed to improve. A person who aligns him or herself with entity theory is stuck, unable to make changes to improve their behavior, or continually make the same mistakes again and again.
I have always had an understanding, on why people react and behave in situations that are presented to them. I used to judge quickly about why a person reacts to a certain situation, and was ignorant on why they had reacted in a certain way. Now I know better. I have learned the quote “try walking in their shoes” and taken it seriously. Most people, when they see a bum ion the side of street holding up a sign, begging for money, “I am a veteran”, people are quick to judge and think that it was their decision to be in that place. Yes, that person most likly made poor decisions in the past, but they made those decisions because that is what they thought was the best for them, and never knew anything else better. Looking at reasons on why a person views his or her life is important to see why they behave and have their own lifestyle. I also think, that some people know better, and do not act, while others really do not know better, and do not act.
