Empathy has always been at the core of who I am. It drives me to help those around me — well, that’s what I used to think. Recently, I have to come to realize that compassion, not empathy, is the force that drives me. Although compassion and empathy are often used synonymously, they are not the same thing. I used to equate empathy with compassion — how can someone understand how others feel and not care? Unfortunately, we do that all the time. We put ourselves in the shoes of others, yet we do not act.

We convince ourselves that empathy is enough, but it is not. Empathy does not imply action. Compassion, on the other hand, does. In order to solve the trials that currently muddle our world, we need to begin understanding the differences between empathy and compassion, how these emotional processes work, and when to use them effectively.

Empathy involves feeling and understanding the emotions of another person. It is an attempt to put oneself in the shoes of another. At its best, empathy helps people feel like they are not alone. It reminds us of our shared humanity. At its worst, empathy can become a burden on those trying to empathize with others and can overwhelm them. It is also limited because empathy is only our best interpretation as to how others are feeling, since we do not know every single factor that goes into a person’s life.

Empathy is a powerful tool because it creates a bond between people. However, it does not call people to action. Understanding and feeling with another person does not compel everyone to help others. It is far too easy for us to say, “I understand where you are coming from. That’s horrible. Let me know if you ever need to talk about it,” or “I share your pain,” and never move forward to help.

Unlike empathy, compassion implies action. It also does not have the immobilizing effect that empathy can produce. Recent studies looking at emotional responses in fMRI machines have shown that empathy can cause distress. Compassion does not. This difference exists because compassion is less about feeling with others and more about seeing the misfortune of others and wanting to help them. Compassion drives people to care for others, even if they don’t understand how they feel. Because of that, compassion can be more attainable than empathy.

In an ideal world, empathy would lead to compassion. Unfortunately, this is not the case. It is becoming increasingly easy to disconnect in a world that has such a strong capacity for connection. Instead of taking the time to care about the situations that are going on and showing compassion, we empathize and sympathize with the suffering. By empathizing and sympathizing, we become overwhelmed with the horror of the situation and believe that we can’t do anything to help. That process leads us to retreat, rendering us unproductive.

Since empathy can lead to distress, we should begin shifting our focus towards compassion. We need to realize that we don’t have to be immersed in a situation to have the capacity to help. Even the most obtuse person can show compassion.

Although empathy gives us a starting point to know what’s going on with those around us, it is not the ending point. We need to use our empathy and transform it into compassion and care. Only through action will we ever begin to tackle the problems that face our world.