Mayo Clinic On Human Optimization

People like easily quantified measures of success – money, degrees, awards, followers. They’re simple and straightforward. The more you have, the better you’re doing. At least in theory.   

Reality is a little more complicated. You can be financially secure but lonely. Highly productive but purposeless. Successful but depleted.  

So how do we go from looking good on paper to being good for real?  

This episode, our guest is Dr. Renae Wilkinson, a sociologist and research associate with the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University. And she’s here to help us take a more holistic assessment of our lives and learn to flourish.  

The three big questions we have for Dr. Wilkinson are: 

1.   What is human flourishing and why do we need it in our lives?  

2.  Why do we struggle to flourish and what keeps holding us back?   

3.  What clear and distinct steps can people take to increase human flourishing across the major domains of life?   

 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: [email protected]

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Modern workplaces love their KPIs, deadlines, deliverables — anything we can use to quantify success. And while shareholders might get all fired up when they see those numbers move in the right direction, for the people doing the work, it really isn’t enough. We need more than a number and a target to do our best work, stay motivated, and prevent burnout. (And no, a boss peering over our shoulder isn’t the answer either.) 

So how do leaders go from managing metrics to truly inspiring others?  

This episode, we talk to Prathibha Varkey, M.B.B.S., M.B.A., president of Mayo Clinic Health System. She’s a practicing clinician and professor of preventive medicine who leads 14,000 employees serving 16 community hospitals and 40 clinics across Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa. 

The three big questions we discuss with Dr. Varkey are: 

1. What does it mean to inspire others, and why is inspiration so important for performance and human flourishing?  

2.  Why do we fail to inspire others well, and what happens when we live without inspiration? 

3.  How can we inspire others practically and effectively, regardless of our role?

 Learn more about On Human Optimization and access Pod-Club questions at https://ce.mayo.edu/content/mayo-clinic-human-optimization

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Find us online at Mayo Clinic Press for more health and wellness articles, podcasts and books.

 Do you have feedback, questions or topic suggestions? Email us at [email protected].

Ambitious people often credit their success to a strong inner critic. They take pride in “staying hungry” and talk about complacency like it’s an existential threat. But that same voice can steal the joy from our happiest moments – moments in life where we should feel proud and accomplished, but all we can see are the little missteps we took along the way. Or the things we haven’t yet accomplished.   

So how do we make room for joy and positivity without eroding our motivation and ambition?  

This episode, we’re joined by two experts from the Compassion Institute – Program Director Aproteem Choudhury, and Executive Director Stephen Butler – to talk about how mastering the art of self-compassion can fight burnout, increase satisfaction, and propel sustained achievement.   

The three big questions we have for Apro and Stephen are:  

1.  What is self-compassion, and why is it important?  

2.  Why do we tend to be our own harshest critic, and why is it so hard to be kind to ourselves?  

3. How can people develop more self-compassion while maintaining high standards and fueling growth? 

Learn more about On Human Optimization and access Pod-Club questions at https://ce.mayo.edu/content/mayo-clinic-human-optimization

Sign up to receive Mayo Clinic Press emails. 

Find us online at Mayo Clinic Press for more health and wellness articles, podcasts and books.

Do you have feedback, questions or topic suggestions? Email us at [email protected].

Do you feel that you’re creating the future for yourself and your team? Or are you spending your time just reacting to the crisis of the day? While it’s critical to keep the ship from sinking, we also need to do some work to ensure that we’re steering the ship in the right direction. This requires forward-thinking.

This episode, we’re joined by Coen A. Wijdicks, Ph.D. He holds a Ph.D. in biomedical science and an executive MBA with a focus on strategy and leadership. He now serves as the VP of research at Gillette Children’s, where he actively manages more than 100 research studies, many clinical trials, and multisite academic partnerships.

The three big questions we discuss with Dr. Wijdicks are:

Learn more about On Human Optimization and access Pod-Club questions at https://ce.mayo.edu/content/mayo-clinic-human-optimization

Instagram: @MayoHumanOptimization

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Find us online at Mayo Clinic Press for more health and wellness articles, podcasts and books. 

Do you have feedback, questions or topic suggestions? Email us at [email protected].

Everyone knows that our health is fundamental to our whole experience of life. So why does it always seem like it’s the first thing to get deprioritized when life gets busy? And when we do try to make it a priority, why does it feel like our efforts don’t lead to meaningful change? 

This episode, we’re joined by Dr. Darshan Shah. He’s a surgeon, author, entrepreneur, and host of his own podcast, Extend. And he’s here to help us learn to take control of our health, form healthy habits, and increase our health span. 

The three big questions we discuss with Dr. Shah are: 

1.  How much of our health is shaped by our own actions, mindset, and decisions? 

2.  Why do so many of us fail to take ownership of our health, and what beliefs or habits are keeping us stuck? 

3. What practical steps can we take to assume more ownership of our health and start making better decisions?

Learn more about On Human Optimization and access Pod-Club questions at:

https://ce.mayo.edu/content/mayo-clinic-human-optimization

Sign up to receive Mayo Clinic Press emails. 

Find us online at Mayo Clinic Press for more health and wellness articles, podcasts and books. 

Do you have feedback, questions or topic suggestions? Email us at [email protected].

You don’t need anyone to tell you that working out is hard. That’s the whole point. But for many of us, the hardest part isn’t physically

So how do we work on our mental fitness with the same dedication we bring to our physical fitness?  

This episode, we’re joined by Jonathan Jenkins, Psy.D., CPMC, a clinical and sport psychologist at Massachusetts General Hospital. He’s also the Team Clinical and Performance Psychologist for the New England Patriots, and Behavioral Sport Psychologist for the Boston Red Sox. And he’s the author of the book “Mentality Wins: The Athlete’s Playbook for Thriving in Sport and Life.”   

The three big questions we discuss with Dr. Jenkins are:  

1.  What is the "mental game" of fitness, and why is it just as important as physical training?  

2.   Why do so many people struggle with the psychological friction of staying physically fit?  

3.  How can we actively train our minds to overcome these blocks and elevate our physical fitness?  

Learn more about On Human Optimization

https://ce.mayo.edu/content/mayo-clinic-human-optimization

Instagram: @MayoHumanOptimization
YouTube: On Human Optimization - YouTube
Email: [email protected]

Sign up to receive Mayo Clinic Press emails. 

Find us online at Mayo Clinic Press for more health and wellness articles, podcasts and books.

 Do you have feedback, questions or topic suggestions? Email us at [email protected].

New relationships are hard for a reason – no trust. You’re starting from scratch with no common understanding, no established shared goals, or history of goodwill. Everyone’s feeling vulnerable. But also suspicious. It feels hard to take risks or even just relax and be yourself.    

So, how do we get past the awkwardness and start building trust? Or rebuild it after it’s been lost?   

This episode, we’re joined by Dr. Karen Mellum. She holds a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology and is a Human Resources Administrator and Executive leadership coach at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. And she’s here to help us stop waiting for others to prove themselves and start being the first mover.   

The three big questions we discuss with Dr. Mellum are:  

1.  What is trust? And why is it crucial for high performance teams?  

2. Why is trust so hard to build and maintain?  

3. How do we move from being "suspicious by default" to "trusting by design" while still maintaining healthy boundaries? 

 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: [email protected]

Sign up to receive Mayo Clinic Press emails. 

Find us online at Mayo Clinic Press for more health and wellness articles, podcasts and books. 

Do you have feedback, questions or topic suggestions? Email us at [email protected].

Everyone loves a good leader. But they’re often held up as these singular examples of success, vision, inspiration, and perseverance. And we struggle to learn from their stories and distill them into a practical, repeatable blueprint for good leadership.  

This episode, we’re joined by Dr. James Hebl, Medical Director for Leadership and Talent Development at Mayo Clinic and a certified executive coach for healthcare leaders. He’s here to break down the

The three big questions Dr. Hebl is going to help us tackle are:  

1. What is leadership really, and how can we move it from a vague concept into something concrete? 

2. Why do so many of us struggle to develop ourselves as leaders and to teach others about leadership? 

3. How can we use this framework to better lead ourselves and others?

Learn more about On Human Optimization and access Pod-Club questions at https://ce.mayo.edu/content/mayo-clinic-human-optimization

Sign up to receive Mayo Clinic Press emails. 

Find us online at Mayo Clinic Press for more health and wellness articles, podcasts and books.

Self-care is one of the most commonly used, but poorly understood concepts today. For some, it brings to mind indulgence, luxury, or performative wellness culture. For others, it feels selfish, soft, or unrealistic. However, self-care, when done properly, helps

Our expert guest for this episode is Dr. Amy Oxentenko. She’s the Vice Dean of Practice and Vice Chair of the People and Culture Committee at Mayo Clinic. She’s an educator, researcher, leader, and avid distance runner who credits much of her success to intentional self-care practices. 

The three big questions we discuss with Dr. Oxentenko are:

 Learn more about On Human Optimization

Instagram: @MayoHumanOptimization
YouTube: On Human Optimization - YouTube
Email: [email protected]

Sign up to receive Mayo Clinic Press emails. 

Find us online at Mayo Clinic Press for more health and wellness articles, podcasts and books.

 Do you have feedback, questions or topic suggestions? Email us at [email protected].

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

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?

Learn more about On Human Optimization and access Pod-Club questions at https://ce.mayo.edu/content/mayo-clinic-human-optimization

Sign up to receive Mayo Clinic Press emails. 

Find us online at Mayo Clinic Press for more health and wellness articles, podcasts and books.

Do you have feedback, questions or topic suggestions? Email us at [email protected].