Asking "How Are You?"

My brother gave me an article on empathy the other day. It really struck home.

Not just because I have a VERY long way to go on this topic, but because it showed me how trite and insensitive some of our behavior is in a multi-tasking admiring world.

One is carrying on a conversation while you are emailing. It happens a lot at work and it's distracting.

Second is asking, "how are you?" Most of the time, we don't really mean it. Anything other than "fine" as a response and we don't know what to do.

I'm going to try and remove "How are you?" from my vernacular.

My goal: when I see someone, make a genuine comment that reflects my impression of that person. Maybe a comment on an article of clothing, gratitude for a funny joke or article that was forwarded, etc.

One small step to improve my empathy for others....