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You are reading The How to Live Newsletter: Your weekly guide offering insights from psychology to help you navigate life’s challenges, one Wednesday at a time.

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Mother Monster's Crusade for Kindness

Lady Gaga, born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, and affectionately know as Mama Monster, to her fans, is a musician, activist, producer, performer, designer and many more hyphenates.

As a business woman and an artist, she’s been consistently ahead of her time, so it’s no surprise that 13 years ago, in 2011, she and her mother Cynthia Bissett Germanotta, launched the Born This Way Foundation whose audacious mission was to inspire youth to channel compassion and kindness on a massive scale.

Geared toward Gen Z, the foundation prides itself on being a youth-led movement, with its executive team made up of activists in their 20s. Its progressive spirit aligns with Lady Gaga's brand of provocative empowerment for her young "little monster" fanbase, many of whom struggled with mental health or identity issues as teenagers.  

Their programs include youth-driven research, strategic partnerships, free courses, and various channels focusing on their core mission to make kindness cool. Through kindness and acts of personal bravery through story-telling, Born This Way works hard to destigmatize mental health.

Through initiatives like the Born Brave Bus, a touring truck that provides an affirming space for LGBTQ youth to access free resources and programming aimed at fostering self-love, they’ve reached over 1.5 million young people.

In 2018, Gaga expanded her compassionate empire by launching Channel Kindness, a multimedia project incorporating themes of empathy and emotional intelligence into books, TV shows and classroom materials. There are ways to take action and spread kindness, tell stories, and take workshops.

Lady Gaga has been increasingly open about her own struggles with PTSD and mental health issues stemming from a sexual assault as a teenager. She sees Born This Way as not just a philanthropic project, but a form of personal healing. 

Their advisory board members, made up of young people ages 15-24, serve for one-year and act as ambassadors of kindness, bravery and mental wellness. They publish their work on Channel Kindness and help spread the message that communities that validate emotions and engage in acts of kindness will give rise to a mentally healthy world.

One of the bright minds contributing to the Born This Way cause is 25-year-old Vaishnavi Rana, a young Indian change-maker who works to foster inclusivity and tackles issues like human trafficking and mental health through research, advocacy, and partnerships with organizations like Ubuntu Leaders Academy and World Youth Alliance.

Leading a project empowering trafficking survivors, she's recognized by the Girl Move Academy of Africa. Collaborating with groups like the Born This Way Foundation, she aims to dismantle mental health stigma and build an equitable support system at home.

In the spirit of compassionate connection, Vaishnavi sent me a piece she wrote on the kinder, braver world of her dreams. Today, I’m sharing it with you. May it familiarize you with the Born this Way Foundation, and the youth who are striving to manifest a vision that, on the bleakest days, may seem remote, yet on the brighter ones, hopeful. 

Blueprints For A Kinder, Braver World.

As our society advances technologically, genuine and meaningful connections fall by the wayside. Despite the rising notion of a "Global Village," emotional distance persists, and materialism is what matters most. 

This is the antithesis of the gentler, braver world of my dreams.

I have a vision of a place where the basis of all human rights is individual dignity, which no one can take away. The universal instinct is a consideration for people’s feelings, and one chooses words carefully, mindful of their emotional impact. 

While it’s true that we often worry about what others think of us, in my world, that worry is replaced with care about how people are treated. Behavioral emphasis is on offering respect and acceptance in society. 

In ancient society, people were ostracized for their differences, and that legacy continues today; what’s unfamiliar is often punished. My braver world vision is populated by people who treat others equally irrespective of their social, emotional, or economic status. 

We seem to have forgotten the fundamental tenet of human existence–We need one another.  

My kinder, braver world is a place that acknowledges and accepts personal, emotional, and psychological connection as truth; the societal default is kindness and compassion. 

The citizens naturally accept and embrace themselves and others without enforcing external beliefs. There are no “Shoulds” there is only being. 

In the words of Mr Miyagi in The Karate Kid, "We have strengths and weaknesses. We might fall, or hesitate over our next move, or have a moment of over-enthusiasm, but we keep flowing, allowing ourselves to be messy and beautiful.” 

Being and living as we truly are is brave.

My world is filled with people who are free of excessive pride and boldness in the face of what might be considered weakness.

For many people worldwide, the highest purpose is to live in service. In his book, Think Like a Monk, author, new-age influencer and former monk, Jay Shetty writes, "We are born wired to care for others, so service does us good." 

We can only create a better world for everyone if we learn how to feel good and be kind to ourselves. To master the mind and connect with the soul, Jay Shetty says, is the true essence of happiness.

A kinder and braver world will always allow individuals to express opinions and stand for themselves irrespective of age, gender, caste, or ethnicity. A world for all, a world sensitive to everyone's needs, a world respectful of everyone, a world allowing everyone to grow, an inclusive and accommodative world, and a world ‘a global village’ in its truest sense, is the only kinder and braver world. 

Have you heard of Born This Way? Are there other youth-led mental health organizations you’d like to see spotlighted? Let me know in the comments!

Until next week, I will remain…