Empathy grows intimacy in marriage. But do you know the difference between empathy and sympathy?

Is your spouse your best friend? Is he/she the person you want to talk to when something good or something bad happens? Do you feel connected and close?

If you answered “no” to any of those, you or your spouse may have a problem with empathy.

Using sympathy with your partner can actually cause your partner to feel very disconnected and distant from you.

Empathy is much more powerful.

If we take the true definition of empathy, “the power of understanding and imaginatively entering into another person’s feelings,” how do you think your partner would rate you on your ability to empathize with them?

Showing empathy grows intimacy.

Too many times we want to fix it, or even worse, use the event to teach them a lesson. Empathy does not fix, problem solve or preach.

Next time you have the chance to show empathy, try and stop yourself before you try to fix it or make it a learning opportunity.

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How do you show empathy?

What is the best way to ease someone’s pain and suffering? In this beautifully animated Short, Dr. Brené Brown reminds us that we can only create a genuine empathic connection if we are brave enough to really get in touch with our own fragilities.

Watch this for a great example on how to show empathy and draw your partner closer to you.

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