In his 2014 book Hit Refresh, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella talks about his penchant for empathy.
Many years ago at an interview, the interviewer asked him what he would do if he came across a 3 month old baby lying on the street wailing. Mr. Nadella immediately said he would call 911, and the police, and an ambulance, and child care services among other things.
The interviewer told him “Satya, it is a baby, you could just pick it up and cradle it in your arms!”
Hardly something that might strike us isn’t it? What if we could use such empathy in our day to day interactions? We would appreciate others’ motivations and circumstances before flying off the handle.
And none of this is for the other person. Being empathetic will only help us – by retaining control over both, the mind, as well as the tongue.