#298 How (and Why) to Hack Your Empathy | Jamil Zaki

Kindness and empathy are loaded propositions right now. When you hear those words, you might think: Eh, those are soft skills that won’t help me get ahead? Or: If I’m too nice, I will get trampled. Or: I need my anger to be effective. Or: I am plenty nice -- it’s other people who need to up their game. My guest today will push back on all of these reservations, and tell us how -- and why -- to, as he says, “hack your empathy.” Jamil Zaki a psychologist and director of the Stanford Social Neuroscience Lab. He wrote a book called, The War for Kindness. In this conversation, we talk about how our modern culture is suffering from an “empathy deficit”; why he believes selfishness is a sickness; how to avoid empathy burnout; and the academic criticism that empathy is actually an outmoded and unreliable human capacity.

Where to find Jamil Zaki online: 

Website: https://www.warforkindness.com

Social Media:

• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram

Other Resources Mentioned:

• Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World by Vivek Murthy
• Altruism in Humans by C. Daniel Batson
• Against Empathy by Paul Bloom
• The Western Illusion of Human Nature by Marshall Sahlins
• Liz Dunn’s research on benefits of helping others
• Dr. Carol Dweck’s work on mindsets
• Erica Weisz, empathy and prosocial behavior
• The Denial of Death by Ernest Becker
• Dr. Michael Cline’s work on self-compassion
• Jamil Zaki on sustainable medical empathy
• Liz Rogers, neurodevelopmental and behavioral pediatrics
• Nick Epley and Juliana Schroeder’s research on time spent with strangers

Additional Resources:

• Ten Percent Happier Live: https://tenpercent.com/live
• Coronavirus Sanity Guide: https://www.tenpercent.com/coronavirussanityguide
• Free App access for Frontline Workers: https://tenpercent.com/care