Dr. Kristin Moody started out her career as a teacher passionate about deeply connecting with her students. That connection, and her subsequent interest in the study of empathy, propelled Kristin into a career in just that—launching Empathy at Work and spending her time studying the science behind empathy and how we connect to one another. 

On this episode of The Sidewalk Talk podcast, Traci talks with Kristin on all things empathy, emotional contagion, self-care and mindfulness, and Kristin’s hopes for how the world can change for the better when it comes to empathy. In a continually more divided, and digitized, society, empathy can be hard. But it’s not impossible, and Kristin is here to give us the tools necessary to practicing empathy more authentically every day. 

Episode Timeline:

• [00:07] Intro 

• [02:19] Meet Dr. Kristin 

• [05:27] Kristin’s definitions of empathy  

• [11:48] The physiology behind empathy and emotional contagion 

• [21:55] Empathizing in a digital world   

• [25:35] Connecting to different types of people, self-care, and mindfulness 

• [30:40] Meditation  

• [32:35] Social media’s impact on the brain 

• [37:16] Kristin’s hopes for how the world can change  

• [42:53] Kristin’s word for you

• [45:10] Outro 

Resources Mentioned:

• EmpathyAtWork.net

• The Mindfulness Coaching School

Standout Quotes:

• “I am deeply called to learn from others, and that evolved into an understanding of what empathy is. Which I think is learning from and being allowed to be shaped by others in a way that we have a biology for and we have a physiology for.”
  —Dr. Kristin Moody 

• “Empathy is a focused attention on another. The acceptance of that person’s truth without judgement. An accurate interpretation of that person’s emotional state. And then a response to that person’s state with parity.”
  —Dr. Kristin Moody 

• “Empathy really just is about sitting in and holding space with someone and being able to share a feeling.”
  —Dr. Kristin Moody 

• “If you have true empathy, it doesn’t have to be exhausting because it’s a choice.”
  —Dr. Kristin Moody 

• “I can make a decision to flip the switch at any time and really listen to somebody and practice, and I can also make the decision at any time to turn it off and move through my life, to put blinders on. But that also means that sometimes you just have to go inwards and put blinders on so that you can sit down in the right situations and totally be open-hearted.”
  —Dr. Kristin Moody 

• “There are times when you can turn it off, so that when it really matters you can turn it on.”
  —Dr. Kristin Moody 

• “There’s just something about the idea of believing people, accepting their truth without judgement. Recognizing that their experience is different than yours or recognizing that the way that they’re experiencing something is making it different than yours.”
  —Dr. Kristin Moody 

Connect:

Find | Sidewalk Talk 
At sidewalk-talk.org
On Instagram: @sidewalktalkorg
On Twitter: @sidewalktalkorg

Find | Traci Ruble
At Traciruble.com
On Instagram: @TraciRubleMFT
On Twitter: @TraciRubleMFT
On Facebook: @TraciRubleMFT

Find | Dr. Kristin Moody
At EvolveNetwork.me
On LinkedIn: @KristinMoody
On Instagram: @empathy_at_work

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