Compassion is one of the most necessary human values today, since superficial values prevail in the world. This causes all kinds of abuses and injustices, from the highest hierarchies of power to citizens and even, unfortunately, on a daily basis between close people.
In the following Psychology-Online article we are going to develop What is compassion and how to develop it. Discover the great importance of being compassionate in our societies. Compassion is a fundamental tool for social healing, preventing future negligence and laying the foundations for cordial, peaceful and united societies, in which the common good is the main guide along the way.
What is compassion
The value of compassion is ability of the human being to share the pain of his neighbor. When we are compassionate, we can enter into our loved one’s suffering and share their pain. In other words, it is an act of love through which we relieve the person of their suffering and strengthen them by giving them faith and confidence that the pain, at some point, will cease.
Specifically, compassion is one of the most necessary social human values to develop in people if we want to live in societies where there are cordial, fair and supportive relationships, where there is no room for exploitation, usurpation, abuse and, in its most dehumanized version, wars between peoples and civilizations.
To better understand how human values are classified, we recommend you read this article with examples of them.
Benefits of compassion
The benefits of compassion they are innumerable and they are closely related to the achievement, so sought after today, of states of personal and social well-being. Next, we will show you its benefits, both for compassionate people and for the people who receive compassion.
Benefits of being a compassionate person
When a person is compassionate, it brings the following benefits:
- Good deeds are returned with joy.
- feel personal satisfaction and strength.
- Receive thanks from the people you help.
- The heart of the compassionate person grows and increases your capacity to love and take care of your neighbors.
Benefits of receiving help from a compassionate person
The subject who suffers and receives compassion from another person enjoys the following favors:
- Great interior relief: you feel that you are not alone on the path.
- Feeling of togetherness with the other.
- Faith and trust in life: You understand that, although what you are experiencing hurts, you are not alone and that, together with the person (or people) who accompany you, you will overcome the problem and come out happily strengthened.
- Self-regulation: Compassion allows the person affected by the problem or pain to self-regulate, thanks to the support received by the compassionate person. When one suffers and is not accompanied, the fight against pain becomes harder because there is an internal struggle. In it, the person may end up fainting, due to exhaustion and the difficulty of overcoming the situation experienced.
- impulse force: the person can confront more strongly the attacks caused by the unpleasant situation they are experiencing.
- Be more empathetic: The individual who receives compassion opens his heart and becomes kinder, more confident, with great joy and strength. This leads you to be much more empathetic and compassionate with others. If you want to know more, in this article, we will tell you.
How to be a compassionate person
As we have commented in the first paragraphs, educating in compassion is an essential social act if we want to return to current societies the universal human values that are so absent today.
When in doubt about how to be a compassionate person, first of all it is important to do deep personal work to recognize that each person has negative and positive traits. Then you have to do a personal cleaning work to eliminate everything negative that harms us and causes us to harm others. The ultimate goal is to enhance everything positive to deliver it to the world.
Some acts that can help us in this work of developing compassion are:
- Reflect on my own positive and negative aspects: see how they influence our lives and our mood and check what strategies we use to overcome negative states. This self-analysis will allow us to understand other people, understanding that they are going through situations similar to ours, and to properly accompany them in painful moments.
- Observe how people around us act: avoiding any negative judgment and striving to develop a maternal and kind outlook.
- Prioritize the needs of others about ours.
- Ask for sincere forgiveness when we make any mistake and be prepared not to repeat it again. This act will allow us to be compassionate when someone else makes the mistake. In this article you will find more information about .
- Try to help anyone who needs helpno matter how small the gesture.
These actions, among many others, will help us develop compassion, an important human value that will favor our personal maturation.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
If you want to read more articles similar to What is compassion and how to develop itwe recommend that you enter our category.
Bibliography
- García-Campayo, J., & Demarzo, M. (2015). Mindfulness and compassion. The new revolution. Barcelona: Siglantana.
- Lama, D., & Hill, T. (2004). The art of compassion. Rosés Lithograph.