We say that we are empathetic, but the most honest thing for us would be to understand what it truly means to be empathetic. And first and foremost with ourselves. Empathy means feeling another person's emotions with them and truly putting yourself in their shoes. But, for this to be possible, it is important to recognize and understand your own. Most people are not good at empathizing, and even when they do empathize, they are terrible at talking about empathy. There are different ways to help people learn to empathize. One way is to start with sympathy. Sympathy and empathy differ significantly. Sympathy means witnessing and understanding someone else, while empathy means feeling the other person's emotion. In other words, a sympathetic person can see that someone is sad and understands that the person needs a hug. A person experiencing empathy will actually feel the other person's sadness as their own. Despite the difference, however, sympathy can be used as a step toward rising to empathy. Sympathy requires you to first see a person in their emotional state. If there are no visual or other sensory signs, an excellent way is simply to ask if they are feeling anything. Once the emotional state is clear, you can move on to understanding. You reflect the emotion back and understand where that emotion comes from, if it has an origin, and understand the effect it has on you or the other person. "I hear how frustrated you are," or "I see how frustrated you are," or "I imagine how frustrated it makes you feel" are examples. In conclusion, empathy with yourself is fundamental to being able to be empathetic with another person.