The Empathy Effect
Unlock Stronger Bonds With These 3 Tools
Emotional Empathy: Feeling With Others This kind of empathy tugs at your heartstrings when someone you love is hurting. Emotional empathy lets you actually feel what another person feels. It’s powerful, but it can also be overwhelming. To strengthen emotional empathy, put distractions away during conversations, make eye contact, and be present. When we give people our full attention, our emotional receptors are activated. If you feel emotionally overloaded, though, it’s okay to take a breather. Boundaries are a healthy part of empathy, too. Compassionate Empathy: Acting on Understanding Compassionate empathy goes beyond understanding and feeling; it’s about doing something helpful. For example, if your
Empathy quite literally holds our relationships together. It helps us connect, understand, and support one another. But did you know empathy isn’t just one thing? It comes in three distinct forms, each playing a unique role in how we relate to others. Cognitive Empathy: Understanding the Mind Cognitive empathy involves mentally stepping into someone else’s shoes to understand their thoughts. For example, if your friend is ranting about a frustrating day at work, cognitive empathy helps you understand and relate. If you want to build this skill, practice active listening. Instead of planning your response while someone’s talking, focus entirely on their words. Then, reflect on what you’ve heard. Phrases like “It sounds like you’re feeling ...” can go a long way.
partner is anxious about an upcoming presentation, you can show compassionate empathy by noticing and offering to run through their slides with them. To show compassionate empathy, ask yourself, “How can I lighten their load right now?” Even small gestures like texting to offer help can build trust and deepen connections. When all three types of empathy are present, relationships thrive. You understand, feel, and act, and while not every situation calls for all three, being aware of each type can make you a better friend, partner, parent, or teammate.
The Small Click That Saves Thousands of Lives Why Every 50 Minutes a Life Is Lost Without a Seat Belt
November 14 is National Seat Belt Day, and while most drivers in Georgia understand the importance of buckling up, the numbers remind us why this small action makes a life-or-death difference. Nationwide, daytime seat belt use among front-seat passengers reached 91.2% in 2024, yet thousands of lives are still cut short. In 2023 alone, more than 10,000 people killed in crashes were not restrained. Tragically, someone dies every 50 minutes in America because they weren’t wearing a seat belt. Know Georgia’s seat belt laws. Georgia enforces primary seat belt laws , meaning officers can stop a driver just for not wearing one. The law is clear:
• “I’m in a pickup truck, I’ll be safer.” Not true at all. In fact, 61% of pickup occupants killed in 2023 were unbuckled, compared to 47% in passenger cars.
• “I don’t need a seat belt if I’m just going a short distance.” Most deadly crashes occur close to home at under 40 mph.
• “The back seat is safe enough.” In reality, unbelted back-seat passengers can slam into front-seat occupants during a crash, causing devastating injuries. Buckle up the right way. A seat belt only protects you if it’s worn correctly. The lap belt should stay across your hips, not your stomach, and the shoulder strap should run across your chest, not behind your back or under your arm. This positioning allows your strongest bones to absorb the force of impact, giving you the best chance of walking away from a collision. A simple step that saves lives. At our firm, we’ve seen firsthand how devastating crashes can be when seat belts are ignored. Buckling up is quick, easy, and, most importantly, the single most effective way to reduce your risk of death or serious injury. This Nov. 14, make the pledge: every trip, every seat, every time.
• Drivers and front-seat passengers must always buckle up.
• Children and teens ages 8 to 17 must wear seat belts in every seat.
Georgia has one of the strongest compliance rates in the nation at 92%, but every percentage point matters when lives are at stake.
Myths that put drivers at risk. Too many people still cling to misconceptions that put them in danger:
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