Intentional Empathy: Houston Kraft on Developing Deep Kindness
In this episode of Health Gig, Doro and Tricia welcome Houston Kraft, founder of CharacterStrong. Houston discusses the importance of kindness in education, which is a principle concept of his organization. Through CharacterStrong, Houston dedicates himself to teaching social-emotional skills in schools, where he highlights the impact of kindness on mental health and advocates for a proactive approach to kindness. From this conversation, listeners will learn how deep, habitual kindness positively affects us.
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Website: https://characterstrong.com/houston-kraft
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/houstonkraft/
Deep Kindness: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1982183314
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qUOTES:
“The amount of data and information kids are exposed to on social media has led to an increase in anxiety. And when anxiety goes up, empathy goes down.” –Houston Kraft
Niceness is reactive, kindness is proactive. Niceness is, if you’re nice to me, I’ll be nice back. Kindness is showing respect and compassion, whether or not I like somebody. –Houston Kraft
“When it comes to school culture changes, you have to change adult behavior, not the kids’ behavior. Adults are the cause and students are the effect.” –Houston Kraft
Show Notes:
Kindness can significantly improve well-being and is foundational to a compassionate society.
Fear often drives negative behaviors in students.
Teaching kindness requires addressing underlying skills and emotions.
Character Strong aims to fill the gap in social-emotional learning.
Empathy and emotional regulation are key skills for kindness. Parents are crucial in teaching kindness to children.
Kindness should be a daily habit, not just random acts.
We are innately kind, but society can make us forget.
Empathy is declining as anxiety increases in youth.
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