Empathy as Fuel

I have a shift in thinking today that I want to share. I spoke with my career coach about how I feel flooded, almost overwhelmed with ideas lately. She helped me see how the root of the ideas come from feeling. Imagining what people, doctors, kids, moms, neighbors are feeling and channelling that to come up with ways to help. It give me purpose and helps ease my high anxiety to think of ideas around helping people. It’s the new selfish. She helped me shift my thinking to see my empathy as fuel. And like all things, it can be powerfully positive or dangerously destructive. If I don’t take care of my body and mind, then I can’t translate this empathy into creative action. But when I do care for myself, when I breathe and move and write and cry, without self judgement, then I can shift it. I can move this overwhelming emotion into ideas that I can bring to clients that hopefully impact people lives. Sometime I feel such urgency in the ideas that my body hurts and I forget to breathe. I know that sounds dramatic, it feels pretty dramatic too. I’m grateful to have the tools to help bring this out and I feel hopeful that maybe I can work with others to help bring relief, awareness or support. I’m also finding listening to Paul Simon to be therapeutic. He gets it. He channels it. He feels it all. Using our talents in service of something bigger than ourselves is it- it’s everything. I can feel it. No more chasing trips or degrees or awards- it’s about mastering our tools to channel great ideas that impact human life. It sounds grandiose but if it’s your north star it can be pretty simple. Who is this helping? If the answer is just me or just the few and privledged then it’s not worth our time.