Empathy vs sympathy

Let’s start with the definitions of each of the words:

Empathy: the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another.

Sympathy: a feeling or expression of sincere concern for someone who is experiencing something difficult or painful.

Sounds the same but is very different in practice. While anyone can feel sorry for someone (sympathy), not everyone will feel with said person/people (empathy). So a common example is pain: if someone gets hurt, a sympathetic person will see the pain, understand that it is bad, and apologize because the other person is going through it. In contrast, an empathic person will see that same pain and place themselves in that position to understand how difficult it would be to go through that pain.

The key difference here is understanding. One person says they're sorry; the other feels sorry.

It’s very important to understand why it matters because you want empathic people in your life. A vast majority of the people you meet will sympathize; the people who care will see the pain you go through and have a real reaction to your struggles. Know the difference.