Author of #DoThisDaily | CEO, community of SEVEN | Speaks on Growth Mindset, Empathy, Servant Leadership, Work Culture, Purpose-Driven Living | Master Trainer, Leadership Development & Training
This message is for all the empaths and giver in the world (especially in a corporate culture not designed for them): Your kindness is a superpower. Don’t let them harden your heart. Your giving nature is a blessing. It’s not you that needs to change. It’s who you give your energy and time to that needs to change. Read that again. Not everyone deserves your time and energy. Period. The ungrateful. The narcissists. The users. The A-holes. They can take a back seat. Give light to those who deserve it. And if they can’t take your light, let them stand in the shade. Let me repeat it again, it’s not you that needs to change. It’s who you give your energy and time to that needs to change. Keep your boundaries strong. 💪🏼 Never let them mistake your kindness for weakness. Let me know if you hear me. Love, Lan Phan community of SEVEN If you’ve found value in my posts, order my book Do This Daily: Secrets to Finding Success, Happiness, and Purpose in Work and Life: https://lnkd.in/ehxiRfA9
Lan Phan, I hear you loud and clear. It’s something I have struggled with and I I have to be cognizant of the receiver and space.
I am listening, learning and yes I hear you. "it’s not you that needs to change" "It’s who you give your energy and time to that needs to change" "Give light to those who deserve it."
I really love this. Too often the givers are told that the solution is to stop giving in order to preserve themselves. What these well intentioned advice-doling people often don’t understand is that the act of showing kindness is so deeply fulfilling for the ones who are able to give that there is a hollowness or deep discontent when they pull back. Realigning the efforts of the kind hearted to coincide with what will sustain them is vital—for more than just the giver. Thank you for this eye opener!
Don’t let them harden your heart 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
Appreciate this reminder so much, Lan. As a lifelong empathy, I’ve only recently started paying more attention to the boundaries (or lack there of) that I set. And let me be the first to say that it’s changed my life for the better in so many ways. By prioritizing myself (and that doesn’t mean ignoring the people in my life), I’ve been able to nourish my own soul and keep my heart and mind in balance. Because when I was putting someone else’s needs ahead of my own I was saying ‘yes’ to them and ‘no’ to me, which left me depleted. And that just wasn’t a healthy place to be. By setting and keeping healthy boundaries, though, I learned that not only is it ok to put yourself first, but it’s essential if we have any chance of maintaining a balanced life.
I completely agree with you about not giving energy and time to those who do not deserve it. I would rather focus my time and energy on those who appreciate it.
Lan Phan Absolutely beautiful post. Like many, I long to feel safe in an environment and struggle to find those deserving of my energy. I like to think that I have at a minimum recognized that I am an empath, and okay with it. What I am not okay with is the feeling that those in my circle want the opposite. I come from a place of kindness, but I feel like it comes off as weakness.. And it's hard to follow people that don't share an empath philosophy. I wish I knew how to find fellow empaths that can support themselves, their families and their desire to lead with kindness. Thank you for creating a platform for flexing your heart.
So true, Lan. And this is so infrequently addressed in the corporate world. A big part of my mantle with #partheartpartsmart is bringing these gifts forward in the work we do - recognizing and making the most of them in an environment that so easily squashes them down. That same kindness and giving nature, that empathy for others, that understanding… it all leads to the most powerful consumer insights and internal collaboration when leaders can tune into it.
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3wEmpathy Overload is a heavy burden to carry through life. In my next life I want to be an Asshole.