Adam Smith, the author of The Wealth of Nations, believed that “empathy is an intellectual activity that takes into account circumstances, motives, luck, social status, and human character of the person.” The moment we blame another person’s actions, we examine the appropriateness of those actions. Adequacy is a state of neither excess nor understatement. If everyone else thinks a person is bad but I advocate for that person by saying, “I can understand,” then I approve of their actions. This situation is called “mutual sympathy.” In our lives, we can be egocentric in some cases and relation-centric in others. The more mutual sympathy exists, the more relationship-oriented our thinking becomes. Both too much and too little can lead to tiredness or dissatisfaction. Pursuing happiness means finding this adequacy. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”
Revealing all your attractiveness and skills at once is unwise. This principle is also relevant in business. In marketing, creating “waiting demand” can occur when a superior product model is announced in advance, pressuring customers to postpone their purchases. This phenomenon is known as the “Osborne Effect,” named after the Osborne Computer Company in England, which introduced an excessively innovative computer named Vixen and subsequently went bankrupt the following year because existing products could not be sold. Innovating and guiding your current customers is never a straightforward task. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”