In this episode, I republish a conversation I had with Robert Wright on his Nonzero Podcast. Bob and I discuss my struggles with cognitive empathy in everyday life. Not my struggle with the concept, mind you. I know that the ability to imagine another person’s perspective is enormously important in communication and relationships.
We explore my struggles with practicing cognitive empathy – especially when I’m under a lot of stress and/or seeing things through distorted lenses. I talk about how easily distorted perception feeds into cycles of conflict and misunderstanding, even with the ones we love the most.
Bob is now working on a new book loosely tilted, The Radical Power of Cognitive Empathy, and I encourage all globally-minded Yin practitioners to check out his Nonzero Newsletter on Substack.