Dr. Jim Loehr | Empathy & Compassion: Saviors of Humanity

Humanity has a dangerous flaw. Despite the amazing progress we've made eradicating diseases, extending life, creating safe and often fulfilling workplaces, and developing a wide variety of magical machines, humans still fight wars, hate irrationally, and create groups of others who are intentionally marginalized. Our big brains have helped us create incredible tools and marvelous works of art. Still, they have a seemingly ingrained tendency toward violence and the marginalization of outside groups. As humans continue to create more devastating weaponry, performance psychologist Jim Loehr believes empathy and compassion are what can save us from us.

In this interview, Dr. Loehr discusses “our species' penchant for aggression and violence.” To overcome our natural biological scarcity mindset, Dr. Loehr goes on to talk about a 20-week program he has developed for parents, teachers, and coaches that aims to create shared learning environments where people can strengthen their compassion and empathy muscles, practice acts of collaboration, and train themselves to manage their emotions to avoid aggressive overreactions.

Dr. Jim Loehr is a world-renowned performance psychologist, whose ground-breaking, science-based energy management training system has achieved global recognition. From his more than 30 years of experience and applied research, Dr. Loehr believes the single most important factor in successful achievement, personal fulfillment, and life satisfaction is the strength of one’s character. He strongly contends that character strength can be built in the same way that muscle strength is built through energy investment, and has brought this topic to life in his book, Leading with Character: 10 Minutes a Day to a Brilliant Legacy. His latest book is Sapiens Reinvented.