Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff with Kristine Carlson

Kristine opens this replay of her rich and inspiring Kindness Matters series with a heartfelt conversation with Michael Chase about cultivating kindness as a way of life. Michael—bestselling author, inspirational speaker, and founder of The Kindness Center—shares how simple, intentional acts of kindness can uplift our daily lives, transform relationships, and support both personal and collective healing.

You’ll discover:

• why kindness is a powerful catalyst for personal and spiritual growth
• how small acts of kindness can shift conflict and create connection
• how living from the heart helps heal ourselves and the world around us

Guest bio: Affectionately known as The Kindness Guy," Michael J. Chase is an author, inspirational speaker, and a powerful voice for creating a kinder world. At the age of 37, following a life-changing epiphany, Michael ended an award-winning photography career to found The Kindness Center. After gaining extensive media attention for his 24 hours of kindness event, he quickly became a sought-after speaker and workshop leader throughout the world. Considered an expert on the subject of kindness, Michael has inspired thousands to make positive choices that not only impact their own lives, but also those of others.

Kristine celebrates National Kindness Awareness Week by bringing back one of her most cherished series: Kindness Matters. There’s no better moment to revisit these heartfelt conversations that highlight how living spiritually begins with the simple, intentional choice to be kind.

In this special introductory episode, Kristine reflects on how kindness helps us move through conflict with greater compassion, soften our defenses, and return to our true, peaceful nature. She also reintroduces the inspiring guests who contributed their wisdom to this powerful series.

You’ll discover:

• why kindness is a foundational expression of spiritual living
• how small acts of kindness can ease tension and transform conflict
• a preview of the inspiring voices featured in the Kindness Matters series
  
  

As the Dalai Lama reminds us, “My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness. 

 

Visit www.kristinecarlson.com/kindness for a free download of an invigorating guided meditation by Kristine—an exclusive sneak peek of her Guided Meditation Series releasing soon.

We all have days when our energy dips and everything feels a little heavier. In this gentle, heart-opening episode, Kristine reminds you that low moods are simply part of being human—and that they don’t define you. She shares how gratitude can shift your inner state, open your heart, and help you return to a place of peace and perspective.

You’ll learn:

-why it’s okay to experience low moods without judgment

-how gratitude transforms your emotional energy

-simple ways to reconnect to presence and lift your spirit

Listen in to rediscover your natural resilience and remember: you don’t have to fix a low mood, you can breathe through it and let gratitude lead you back to calm.

 

Peace begins the moment you pause, turn inward, and trust the quiet guidance of your own spirit. In this episode of the Communication Mastery Series, Kristine walks you through three specific steps to open yourself to spiritual guidance and listen to what your deeper intuition has to say.

You’ll learn how to:

-open your heart to Spirit and release doubt

-attune yourself to presence so you are divinely aligned

-say a simple prayer to receive true wisdom

-turn spiritual insight into meaningful, inspired action

Join Kristine as she guides you—step by step—through a gentle process of tuning in, listening deeply, and allowing Spirit to lead the way.

Amy Wong helps visionary leaders and teams – like Salesforce, Meta, and LinkedIn – build relationships that drive real results. Today she joins Kristine on the show to explore what it really takes to communicate with clarity, confidence, and heart. Amy shares how fear and anxiety shape the way we speak and listen, and offers practical tools to move from uncertainty to trust.

 

Amy Wong is a TEDx speaker, award-winning author, and leadership expert who helps organizations use human connection to drive breakthrough performance. With a background in mathematics, transpersonal psychology, and two decades in Silicon Valley, she’s shaped thriving cultures at companies like LinkedIn, Salesforce, and Meta. She teaches leadership and communication at Stanford University Continuing Education and wrote Living on Purpose. Her work centers on trust, alignment, and exceptional communication to fuel fulfillment and success.

 

Visit her website: https://amyelizawong.com/ 

Conflict doesn’t have to drive us apart—it can actually become the doorway to deeper intimacy. In this episode, Kristine Carlson explores how getting clear within yourself first is the key to transforming difficult moments into loving, constructive conversations. She reminds us that conflict isn’t “bad” when it’s handled with maturity, presence, and care—it can be a chance to strengthen trust and understanding.

 

Kristine shares how to:

 

• Turn conflict into connection by approaching it as a conversation versus a battle
• Pause and get clear on your own emotions before you speak
• Communicate in a way that softens defensiveness and invites openness
• Access empathy and compassion, even when you disagree
• Use loving communication to nurture intimacy in your most important relationships

 

With honesty and warmth, Kristine shows how the way we engage in conflict can either divide us, or bring us closer together.

In this tender episode of the Communication Mastery Series, Kristine Carlson shares the practice she and her late husband, Richard, used to keep their marriage strong: setting aside sacred time for heart-to-heart communication. She explains the simple yet powerful parameters they followed so each of them felt deeply heard and understood.

In this episode, you’ll learn how to:

• Choose a set time for intentional, heart-to-heart connection
  
• Create a safe space for open and honest sharing
  
• Speak without interruption and listen with full presence
  
• Honor each other’s feelings with empathy and respect
  
• Use this practice to bring more intimacy and trust into your closest relationships
  
  

Kristine invites you to bring this practice into your own life as a way to cultivate deeper love, closeness, and understanding one heartfelt conversation at a time.

Recorded just before her Italy retreat, Kristine shares how to move beyond the surface and create genuine intimacy in new relationships. Drawing from her experience working with women in retreat settings, she explains how simple gestures—like a warm greeting, smiling, or gentle touch—can melt away superficial barriers and allow us to meet each other in our shared humanity.

In this episode, you’ll learn how to:

• Offer a warm greeting that immediately softens barriers
  
• Use smiling, touch, and presence to create safety and warmth
  
• Open your heart so others feel truly seen
  
• Meet someone beyond the surface, in their humanity

She also reflects on how our triggers can be powerful teachers, guiding us toward deeper compassion—and how each new connection is an opportunity to practice intimacy, presence, and love.

Kristine launches her brand-new series, Communication Mastery, with an inspiring invitation to explore how deeper, more mindful communication can transform every relationship in your life. 

In this series, you’ll discover how to:

• Navigate difficult conversations without triggering defensiveness
  
  
• Become less reactive and more grounded in your responses
  
  
• Understand “separate realities” and practice greater empathy
  
  
• Create more powerful, connected conversations at work
  
  
• Lead with love in every interaction

Plus, you’ll learn a powerful guided imagery meditation to help you transform the way you listen and speak! Get ready to bring intimacy and closeness into all of your conversations with this illuminating series.

Kristine welcomes back Dr. Paul Zeitz to the Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff, Live the Big Stuff podcast for a heartfelt conversation about the true meaning of patriotism. Together, they explore how honoring our shared rights and humanity can bring us closer, even in times of deep division.

Together, they reveal practical insights on how to:

-Recognize whether leaders are working for unity or fueling division

-Stay open to hearing different perspectives without losing your own voice

-Navigate family and friendships when opinions don’t align

-Overcome the fear and uncertainty so many of us feel in today’s America

This powerful conversation is a reminder that what unites us is far greater than what divides us and that living with courage, empathy, and optimism is the path forward for all.

Dr. Paul Zeitz is a physician, epidemiologist, author, and award-winning advocate for global justice and human rights. For more than 35 years, he has led campaigns and movements with a bold vision for a more just and compassionate world. In his new book Hit Refresh on the U.S. Constitution: A Revolutionary Roadmap for Fulfilling the Promise of Democracy, he shares how we can peacefully and inclusively rewrite the "code" of our democracy—so it truly works for everyone. 

 

Visit his website: https://drpaulzeitz.org/ 

Follow Dr. Zeitz on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drpaulzeitz/