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Everything we've been taught about wellness — set the goal, track the steps, download the app, go harder — was built on a model of the brain that turns out to be wrong. Applied neuroscience expert and physician-scientist Dr. Kyra Bobinet, also a Ä¢¹½Ó°Òô Boulder alum and Harvard-trained public health physician, takes us inside the groundbreaking science of the habenula. This tiny brain region acts as the brakes on motivation and drives our mood, addictions, and the "know-do gaps" — knowing what's good for us but still not doing it. This is why wellness often feels like something we keep failing at. It's also why anxiety, depression, burnout, and compulsive behaviors are climbing across campuses and workplaces alike, as addiction shows up in dozens of new forms — substances, screens, doomscrolling, food, work, outrage — and younger generations whose brains developed with smartphones and social media in hand carry the heaviest burden of a mental health crisis playing out nationwide.Ìý

Bobinet offers strong hope for these strong times, through sharing the single most protective factor she has discovered in over thirty years of health behavior research: the Iterative Mindset Methodâ„¢, based on the unique pattern she found in people who permanently changed their lives and never stopped. She recasts the pressures on the younger generations with a neuroscience lens — with empowering strategies for human thriving amidst the rise of AI, the uncertainty it casts over everything, job insecurity, climate anxiety, and the societal divisiveness that creates isolation. Dr. Bobinet reveals that the way out of modern darkness is to neutralize failure thinking, quiet the brain’s habenula, and adopt practice-and-iteration in an accelerating world that keeps changing the terms. Ä¢¹½Ó°Òô-Boulder faculty, staff, community, and students, regardless of background, will leave with a liberating reframe of their experience, a kinder and far more effective relationship with facing challenges, and durable skills that transform frustration and hopelessness into physical, emotional, social, and even spiritual well-being.Ìý

Time: 3:00 PM - 3:50 PM
Speaker:
Location: Virtual

Many leaders enter supervisory roles because they care deeply about helping others succeed, yet that same commitment can sometimes lead to over-functioning, emotional exhaustion, and burnout. This session explores the difference between supporting, rescuing, and empowering others, and how coaching can help leaders create greater ownership, accountability, and growth within their teams. Participants will examine the role of empathy in leadership, including how to move from absorbing others’ emotions toward sustainable compassion and intentional support. Through reflection and practical coaching strategies, attendees will learn how to ask more empowering questions, maintain healthy boundaries, and create environments where both individuals and teams can thrive.Ìý

Time: 4:00 PM - 4:50 PM
Speaker: Ìý
Location: Virtual

Individuals in communities living well past 100 years old with vitality, this is known as the Blue Zones. What daily habits of health can you incorporate to improve your health markers as well as enhance daily movement throughout the work week.Ìý