The enoughness power tool you didn't know you needed: "Kindfulness" Dr David Hamilton #85

You may have heard about the health benefits of being kind. Not only can it lower blood pressure, and boost immunity. It can also positively alter your relationship with yourself, which piqued my interest for those of us who've spent decades driving ourselves relentlessly. Is kindfulness a solution to feelings of not-enoughness?  Dr David Hamilton is a speaker, columnist, and author of twelve books, including his most recent, The Joy of Actually Giving a F*ck. He's delivered kindness sessions for Google, Bank of England, the NHS, and many others.  In this episode, David and I discuss "kind genes", how mindfulness doesn't help everyone to be kinder, and rethinking what success can feel like. David also gives us a kindness challenge, which I've been taking. Hear some of the things I've been trying.  0:00 Intro 3:04 Definition of "kindfulness" 4:00 Does mindfulness work for everyone? 6:26 What mindfulness actually does. 7:18 Does it make you more self-critical? 11:02 David's "Inner Buddha" technique 15:50 The fear that self-compassion means we lose motivation 17:12 Productivity, creativity and neural networks 20:35 What success "feels" like as you're pursuing it 28:45 The Physical benefits of kindness 33:21 Research on kindness and self-esteem 35:04 "Writing as a technology of healing," (to use Jessica Waite's phrase from the previous episode) 41:29 David's 7 days of kindness challenge 44:18 List of what Mandy tried 47:17 One of David's ideas 50:19 David's Brick of Wisdom 51:12 Outro Links: Dr David Hamilton (includes his new book). Episode 66 of Enough, the Podcast (on kindness).  Alexandra Franzen's list of 50 ways to be ridiculously generous.