Mayo Clinic Human Optimization Project

E16 How to Define and Live Out Your Purpose: Key Steps to Finding Meaning in Life and Work

Host: Christopher L. Camp, M.D., Creator & Guide | Mayo Clinic Human Optimization Project
Guest: Carlos Coto, MA., CMPC., Head of Mental Performance | San Diego Football Club
Right now, we are all living our lives, striving for progress, and generally trying to improve ourselves, others, and the world around us. But how many of us have stopped to think about WHY we do this? What is the purpose behind our actions? What drives us to want to be better? Even if you have stopped to think about your purpose, do you know it so well that you could clearly articulate it to someone if they stopped you on the street and asked you “What is your purpose?” Probably not. But defining our purpose is absolutely critical to making progress and living a fulfilling life. Our expert guest for this session is Carlos Coto, Certified Mental Performance Consultant and Head of Mental Performance for the San Diego Football Club.
 
The three big questions we have for Carlos are:
What is “purpose,” and why does having a sense of purpose matter in our personal and professional lives?
Why do so many people struggle to identify or redefine their purpose, and what common obstacles stand in the way?
What practical steps and strategies can someone use to discover, refine, and consistently live out their purpose?
 
Connect with us! Learn more about the Human Optimization Project at: https://ce.mayo.edu/optimize 
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Email: optimize@mayo.edu  

E15 Motivating Others: How to Connect With, Inspire, and Motivate the People Around You

Host: Christopher L. Camp, M.D., Creator & Guide | Mayo Clinic Human Optimization Project
Guest: Pablo Lopez, Professional Baseball Pitcher | Minnesota Twins Baseball Club
If you’ve ever been a part of a team, group, organization, or family, it’s obvious that much of your progress, success, and happiness in heavily influenced by the people around you. This can be a major blessing if you are surrounded by the right kind of people. But if you aren’t, it can be a major challenge and roadblock to success. One of critical elements to ensure success of the group is having the ability to appropriately motivate those around you. This is a critical element to group success, but it isn’t easy. That’s what we are going to focus on in this session as we sit down with Major League Baseball player, Pablo Lopez.
 
The three big questions are working through with Pablo are:
 
1. What does it really mean to motivate others, and why does it matter?
2. Why do most people struggle to effectively motivate their peers, and what common challenges keep us from inspiring others?
3. What practical steps can the average person take to become better at motivating those around them?
 
Connect with us! Learn more about the Human Optimization Project at: https://ce.mayo.edu/optimize 
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Email: optimize@mayo.edu  

E14 Understanding the Basics of Sleep: What Everyone Should Know about Sleep Needs and Stages

Host: Christopher L. Camp, M.D., Creator & Guide | Mayo Clinic Human Optimization Project
Guest: Stuart J. McCarter, M.D., Sleep and Cognitive/Behavioral Neurologist | Mayo Clinic – Rochester, MN
In the past, we’ve discussed the circadian rhythm and how it sets your clock for the day. Both when you are awake, and when you are asleep. Today, we are going to focus in on what happens to us when we go to sleep. We all know that for sleep to be truly restorative, we need a certain amount of it, and that sleep needs to be high quality. So, it’s a problem that concerns both quality and quantity. But if you want to optimize the quality and quantity of your sleep, you need to start by understanding what sleep is and what happens to our bodies while we are snoozing. This knowledge is foundational to you becoming the best sleeper you can be. Our guest this week is Dr. Stuart McCarter, who is a Neurologist and Sleep Expert from the Mayo Clinic.
 
The three big questions Dr. McCarter is going to answer for us this week are:
 
1. What is sleep and why is it so important?
2. What are the different stages of sleep and their functions?
3. How can I tell how if I am getting enough high-quality sleep?
 
Connect with us! Learn more about the Human Optimization Project at: https://ce.mayo.edu/optimize 
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Email: optimize@mayo.edu  

E13 Unwrapping the Truth About Processed Foods: Impact on Your Health and How to Overcome the Temptation

Host: Christopher L. Camp, M.D., Creator & Guide | Mayo Clinic Human Optimization Project
Guest: Katherine A. Zeratsky, RDN, LD, Assistant Professor of Nutrition, Registered Dietitian | Mayo Clinic – Rochester, MN
Would you describe yourself as someone who is busy, wants to save money, and likes things that taste good? That describes a lot of us, and those are some of the most common reasons many of us rely on processed foods. However, these foods can have a major impact on us in ways that are obvious, and others that are not so obvious. Not only does what we eat impact our weight, but overconsumption of processed foods impacts nearly every domain of human performance. To tell us more about this topic, our quest this week is Mayo Clinic Registered Dietician and Nutritionist, Kate Zeratsky.
 
The three big questions she is going to walk us through include:
1. What exactly are processed foods and why do they matter so much to our overall health?
2. Why do so many of us rely on processed foods despite the known downsides?
3. What are the practical steps we should take right now to minimize processed foods in our diets?
 
Connect with us! Learn more about the Human Optimization Project at: https://ce.mayo.edu/optimize 
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Email: optimize@mayo.edu  

E12 The Art and Science of Personal Change: Overcoming Barriers to Become Your Best Self

Host: Christopher L. Camp, M.D., Creator & Guide | Mayo Clinic Human Optimization Project
Guest: Anni Shandera-Ochsner, Ph.D., ABPP-CN, Clinical Neuropsychologist & Medical Director of Joy at Mayo Clinic | Mayo Clinic Health System – La Crosse, WI
 
We all have areas of our lives that we’d like to improve. In fact, many of us have been at this for years…with varying levels of success. If you’ve been able to transform your life in a positive way, that’s worth celebrating. But transformation doesn’t come easy to most of us. Why is this process of self-improvement such a challenge? How can we better position ourselves for success in our journey to become the best humans we can be? These are some of the things we will discuss on this episode with Dr. Anni Shandera-Ochsner, who is the Medical Director for Joy for the Mayo Clinic Enterprise.
 
The three big questions we have for her in this session are:
 
1. What exactly is meant by self-improvement, and do we really need to try to change ourselves?
2. Why is it so challenging to recognize our own shortcomings and develop an objective plan for personal growth?
3. What practical actions can the average person adopt to create lasting behavioral changes?
 
Connect with us! Learn more about the Human Optimization Project at: https://ce.mayo.edu/optimize 
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Email: optimize@mayo.edu  

E11 Burnout Decoded: Strategies for Individuals and Organizations to Understand it, Prevent it, and Overcome It

Host: Christopher L. Camp, M.D., Creator & Guide | Mayo Clinic Human Optimization Project
Guest: Colin West, M.D, Ph.D., Medical Director of Employee Well-Being | Mayo Clinic – Rochester, MN
This week, we are focusing on a topic that many don’t like to discuss, but we all need to understand better. You may have experienced it firsthand, and it has major implications for all of us at home and in the workplace. The topic is Burnout. Even though we all hear about it regularly, there is still a lot of confusion about what it is, how to spot it, how to prevent it, and how to overcome it. To help us sort through these issues, we have one of the world’s foremost experts on burnout joining us this week, Dr. Colin West.
Dr. West is the Director of the Program on Physician Well-Being at Mayo Clinic, and here are the three big questions we have for him on this session:
What is burnout and how is it different from stress or general exhaustion?
What are the personal and organizational consequences of burnout?
What are the steps we can take to prevent it and recover from it?
Connect with us! Learn more about the Human Optimization Project at: https://ce.mayo.edu/optimize 
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Email: optimize@mayo.edu  

E10 Dealing with Failure: A Discussion About Processing, Understanding, and Growing From Setbacks

Host: Christopher L. Camp, M.D.
Guest: Carlos Correa, Professional Baseball Shortstop, Minnesota Twins Baseball Club
Failure is tough, and if we are honest with ourselves, we all experience some level of failure on a near daily basis. Some of these failings are small, while others are substantial and can have real impacts on our lives. Given how commonly failure occurs, we need to figure out how to deal with it in a health way. To give us a unique perspective on how we overcome our fear of failure, work through it an effective manner, and come out stronger on the other side, our guest for this episode is Major League Baseball Player, 3 time All-Star, Gold Glove Winner, and World Series Champion…Carlos Correa.
 
Here are the three big questions we are going to tackle with Carlos:
 
1- What does “failure” really mean, and why is it such a universal experience?
2- Why do so many people struggle with failure, and what mental and emotional barriers keep us stuck?
3- What practical steps can the average person take to process failure positively and use it as fuel for growth?
 
The Human Optimization Project | Mayo Clinic School of Continuous Professional Development 
Connect with us!
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E9 Cognitive Overload: Overcoming the Modern Epidemic of Mental Exhaustion

Host: Christopher L. Camp, M.D.
 
Guest: Justin Anderson, Psy. D., LP, CMPC
Owner/Founder | CEO | High Performance Psychologist
Premier Sport Psychology
 
In our modern, hyper-connected world, our brain is subject to a non-stop barrage of noise, information, stimuli, and inputs. While much of it is necessary and meaningful, a large portion is just unnecessary distraction. With this heavy burden of constant stimuli, it’s easy for us to experience “cognitive overload” where our brain is overwhelmed by all the incoming signals. How do we sort through this noise to determine what is critical and really deserves our attention? Can we sharpen our minds so that we can continue to thrive in these times of information overload? Those are some of the issues we are going to tackle in this episode. Our guest for this session is Dr. Justin Anderson, Psy.D., LP., founder and CEO of Premier Sport Psychology.
 
In this episode, he is going to help us answer the following three big questions:
 
1-What exactly is cognitive overload, and what causes it?
2-What are the consequences of cognitive overload for everyday people in their personal and professional lives?
3-What steps can we take right now to reduce cognitive overload and improve our mental performance?
 
The Human Optimization Project | Mayo Clinic School of Continuous Professional Development
 
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E8 The Power of Connection: How to Communicate Effectively with Anyone

Host: Christopher L. Camp, M.D.
Guest: Dustin Morse, Senior Vice President of Communications and Public Affairs, Minnesota Twins Baseball Club
Connection with other people is the one of the most essential elements to a happy and fulfilling life. In order to connect with others, you MUST COMMUNICATE with others. However, in our hyper-electronic and busy world, effective communication has become a lost art for so many of us. We have to change this. To help us get started on this journey of improving our communication, our guest for this session is Dustin Morse, Senior Vice President of Communications and Public Affairs for the Minnesota Twins Baseball Club. In this episode, he is going to help us answer the following three big questions:
 
1-What does effective communication look like, and why is it so important?
2-Why do so many of us struggle with clear and effective communication?
3-What steps can individuals take to better communicate and connect with the people in their lives?
 
The Human Optimization Project | Mayo Clinic School of Continuous Professional Development
Connect with us! Learn more about the Human Optimization Project: X: @MayoHumanOpProjInstagram: @MayoHumOpProjYouTube:  The Human Optimization Project - YouTube

E7 Understanding Your Circadian Rhythm: The Foundation for Healthy, Quality Sleep

Host: Christopher L. Camp, M.D.
Guest: Michael Howell, M.D.
You’ve likely heard of the concept of the “Circadian Rhythm,” but you may not fully understand it. Most people have no idea what their personal circadian rhythm is or how to determine it. Similarly, most of us don’t understand just how our circadian rhythm impacts our energy, sleep, mood, and productivity on a daily basis. Developing a better understanding of your circadian rhythm is a key to optimizing your health, energy, productivity, and joy. Our guest today is Dr. Michael Howell, who is a Sleep Medicine Physician at the University of Minnesota and an expert on all things related to the circadian rhythm. In this episode, he is going to help us answer the following three big questions:
1-What is the circadian rhythm, and how does it affect human health?
2-Why do so many people struggle with sleep, and how can understanding the circadian rhythm help improve sleep quality?
3-What changes can the average person make to align their lifestyle with their natural circadian rhythm for better health and performance?
 
The Human Optimization Project | Mayo Clinic School of Continuous Professional Development
Connect with us! Learn more about the Human Optimization Project: X: @MayoHumanOpProjInstagram: @MayoHumOpProjYouTube:  The Human Optimization Project - YouTube