3 Ingredients to Build Empathy and Foster Deep Relationships | Geoffrey Cohen

In today’s episode, we cover the concept of belonging with Geoffrey Cohen. Cohen is the James G. March Professor of Organizational Studies in Education and Business, professor of psychology and, by courtesy, at the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University, and the author of Belonging: The Science of Creating Connection and Bridging Divides. 

Humans are social creatures and our health is tied to our social bonds, so what happens when we lose the sense of belonging, what can you do to improve your ability to foster that connection with others, and how do you develop the empathy necessary to connect with people from all walks of life?

What to Listen For

• Introduction – 0:00
• What does it mean to belong and what happens to us when we don’t feel a sense of belonging?
• Situation Crafting – 20:48 
• What is situation crafting and how can you leverage it to accomplish your goals?
• What simple tricks can you use to accelerate your progress toward changing or improving your behavior?
• Turning Knowledge into Action – 35:30
• How do you take information you learn in one area and apply it to other areas of your life to save time and energy?
• What are the three ingredients necessary to effect change on an individual level?
• How to connect with people across different beliefs – 45:10
• What obstacles get in the way of connecting with people who have different beliefs than your own?
• How do you develop empathy for cultures or belief systems you have no experience with?

We all want to feel like we belong, that we are a part of something larger than ourselves. When we don’t have that sense of belonging, it can be damaging both mentally and emotionally. But what if there were ways to create a sense of belonging for yourself? What if you could use the power of situation crafting to your advantage? There are simple tricks you can use to get started on this journey and develop empathy for cultures or belief systems that are new to you. The bottom line is that developing a sense of belonging is crucial to our well-being as humans. With the right tools and information, you can find belonging in even the most difficult situations.

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Resources from this Episode

• Belonging: The Science of Creating Connection and Bridging Divides by Geoffrey Cohen
• Geoffrey L Cohen’s website
• Geoffrey L Cohen’s Stanford Faculty page

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