Meet Katharina Schäfer

We recently connected with Katharina Schäfer and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Katharina, thank you for being such a positive, uplifting person. We’ve noticed that so many of the successful folks we’ve had the good fortune of connecting with have high levels of optimism and so we’d love to hear about your optimism and where you think it comes from.

I’ve dealt with anxiety for most of my life, and for a long time that meant feeling overwhelmed by things other people seemed to handle easily. I didn’t become optimistic by nature but learned it out of necessity. I had to figure out how to calm my body, understand what was happening internally, and build routines that helped me return to a place of clarity and calm. With support along the way, and later through studying social work to better understand how humans function emotionally and socially, I began to see that emotions weren’t problems to fix but signals I could work with. Each time I made it through something difficult, it gave me a bit more confidence that I could do it again – and that’s where my optimism comes from today. It’s less “everything will be fine” and more “I know I can find my way through this.” That journey eventually led me to create Kindori, a holistic approach to emotional fitness that helps people understand their inner world and build that same grounded sense of trust in themselves.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

For over a decade, I’ve worked in social work, helping people navigate challenges and build resilience. In addition to working in different companies and institutions as a workshop host, I noticed that almost all the topics we started with ultimately boiled down to emotions – how to handle clients’ emotions and work with our own. Along the way, I became a certified resilience coach and continued hosting workshops to guide others in understanding and managing their emotions. These experiences showed me how powerful practical tools and emotional support can be, which eventually led me to found Kindori. Today, through Kindori, I combine my years in social work, coaching, and workshop facilitation into a holistic approach to emotional fitness, helping people develop skills to navigate life with more awareness, balance, and confidence.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

What helped me most on my journey was the courage to try things I hadn’t tried yet, even though they first appeared to be scary. By doing it scared, I learned that there are only few things I can’t do. The truly hard part is the anxiety holding me back. Once this is surpassed, almost everything is possible. It’s also open mindedness to ask the people who know what I don’t know and to truly listen and learn. I was so often held back by beliefs I had, and eventually being open to new perspectives and truths made me more flexible to handle challenges along the way. The last, but not least important, quality that guided me was kindness, which might just be the most powerful one here. There’s a big difference between pleasing others and being kind. In kindness lies strength. Once you are kind to the world and yourself, it lathers into every area of life and opens new worlds for you.

How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?

Honestly, exactly the way I’m spending it right now. My work at Kindori is what I would do besides work if it didn’t pay me. In fact, it’s what I’m doing in and outside of work anyway. What I bring into the world through Kindori is my philosophy. Among my friends, I’m known for talking about feelings, for deep, honest conversations, and for creating safe spaces to be open and vulnerable. It’s not a job to me, it’s my core values in action. I feel incredibly lucky and privileged to be able to do this for a living, to simply be who I am and amplify what I love with the help and passion of the people who are with me on this journey. It has shaped my relationship with myself and others, the way I see the world, and what I want to contribute during my short time on this earth. So I wouldn’t want to spend this last decade any other way.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://kindori.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kindori.emotionalfitness/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katharina-schaefer-kindori/