Meaning Vs Merit Trailer

Hello, I'm Dr. Maria Christina. I'm a clinical psychologist and adjunct clinical instructor at Stanford University, and I'm also a partner and a parent of two. Every day I hear from so many of you who are grappling to figure out how to find time for meaning during the busyness and stress of life. We live in a culture that glorifies talent, hard work, status, and success. And I hear that you are left feeling inadequate, trying to prove yourselves, and exhausted from trying to make it in a society that focuses on what you are achieving and how shiny you seem. To some extent, these feelings are due to our internal monologue and as a psychologist, I help people to shift this. But I'm struck by the extent to which our society teaches and reinforces a focus on success, status and perfection. There is a societal drive to achieve more, improve more, earn more, find more perfection in, well, everything: baking the perfect cookie, finding the perfect work -life balance, following the perfect diet for health and longevity, even balancing the perfect yoga pose. Amidst all of this drive for more, where does meaning fit in?

Welcome to Meaning vs. Merit, a podcast where we ask important questions about our pursuit of merit, and find practical answers about how to make our lives more meaningful. Join us as we interview guests from different disciplines and explore complex topics, such as learning about our current economy and educational systems and their impact on our search for meaning and merit. We'll have conversations that inspire you and get you closer to finding a balance between meaning and merit.

Meaning vs. Merit launches in March. Subscribe today and listen for free on iTunes or wherever you find your podcasts.