The Human Optimization Project

Hosted ByMayo Clinic

Mayo Clinic Human Optimization Project
The bar for human performance is higher than it’s ever been. As a result, we all feel the need to do MORE. At the same time, we are becoming increasingly aware of the value of sleep, rest, recovery, and wellness. Accordingly, we also feel the need to do LESS. If you’re like most people, it can be challenging to reconcile this conflict of feeling the need to do MORE and LESS simultaneously, and that is likely contributing to high rates of burnout and decreased performance. So how do we reconcile these seemingly competing desires? That is where Human Optimization comes in. Human Optimization is the process of achieving more (however you define that for yourself) while simultaneously improving your wellness and well-being. Although it’s not easy, it’s certainly possible. Not only is it possible, but it is becoming increasingly essential. In this Mayo Clinic Talks Mini-Series, we are going to dive into the topic of Human Optimization and will focus on a few key areas including: exercise, nutrition, culture, emotional intelligence, and finding joy in all you do.

Mayo Clinic On Human Optimization E61 How to define your personal values

Life offers plenty of nice, concrete, mostly attainable goals for us to chase and boxes to check – good job, life partner, maybe a house, maybe kids. But that’s also the classic recipe for a midlife crisis: you work your butt off to get a bunch of those boxes checked only to find yourself exhausted and unfulfilled. Or wondering, “Now what?” 

So, how do we ground our goals to make sure we’re putting our energy into things that really matter? 

This episode, we are joined by Bridget Berkland, Manager of Employee Well-being at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. She’s a National Board-Certified Health & Wellness Coach, and she’s here to help us learn to combat burnout by aligning our daily actions with our deepest
personal and professional values. 

The three big questions we discuss with Bridget are: 

1. What are personal values and what role do they play in our daily life?

2. Why do so many of us struggle to define our values and put them into action?
3. What practical steps can we take to clearly articulate our values and then use them to drive meaning and inform behavior in our lives?

Learn more about On Human Optimization and access Pod-Club questions at https://ce.mayo.edu/content/mayo-clinic-human-optimization
Instagram: @MayoHumanOptimization
YouTube: On Human Optimization – YouTube
Email: optimize@mayo.edu

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