Self-Compassion for Academics: Setting the Stage for Happiness and Success

Facilitator, Dr. Russell Kolts, Professor of Psychology

Description:  Academic careers can present many challenges, particularly in balancing the different demands involved in being instructors, scholars, and in various service roles.  Far from being light and fluffy, compassion is about how we meet challenges, adversity, and difficulties in our lives – with kindness and courage, rather than avoidance or condemnation. This presentation will introduce the concept of self-compassion, and will light-heartedly explore the science behind why learning to meet our own struggles with compassion can set us up to excel in the classroom, be productive scholars, and engage with colleagues in helpful ways. We’ll also explore the “how” of self-compassion, learning strategies for applying self-compassion in our lives and careers.