Practice understanding. Try to place yourself in the shoes of another person. Any person. Loved ones, co-workers, and people you meet on the street. Really try to understand, to the extent that you can, what it is like to be them, what they are going through, and why they do what they do.
Practice sympathy. Once you can understand another person, and feel what they’re going through, learn to want to end their suffering. When you can, take even a small action to somehow ease their pain in some way.
How would you want to be treated? There a is little twist to the Golden Rule which I believe is overlooked by most people - the Golden Rule doesn’t really mean that you should treat someone else exactly as you’d want them to treat you … it means that you should try to imagine how they want to be treated, and do that. So when you put yourself in their shoes, ask yourself how you think they want to be treated.
Be friendly. When you’re in doubt, follow this tip. It’s usually safe to be friendly towards others. Of course, there are times when others just don’t want someone acting friendly towards them, and you should be sensitive to that. You should also be friendly within the boundaries – it’s not about being friend to some because maybe they fit a certain criteria… Anyone! Who doesn’t like to feel welcome and wanted?
Listen to others. Another weakness: a lot of us want to talk, but very few of us want to listen. And yet, we all want to be listened to. So take the time to actually listen to another person, rather than just wait your turn to talk. It’ll also go a long way to helping you understand others.
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