How to give up control - advice from neuroscientist Heather Berlin

Heather Berlin is a a neuroscientist, clinical psychologist, and professor of psychiatry and neuroscience who studies the science of giving up control. She joins Chris to talk about finding the balance between knowing when to hold on to control and when to let go and be present in the moment. They also discuss why you don’t need to always be productive or in a constant state of self-optimization, and how there are benefits in learning to lose track of time and practicing boredom.

Featured guest

• Follow Heather Berlin on Instagram, LinkedIn, and at https://heatherberlin.com/
• Buy Heather's book The Fine Art of Losing Control
• Tune in to Heather's TED Talk, coming soon in November 2026

Connect with the team

• Follow Chris on Instagram and at chrisduffycomedy.com
• Buy Chris’ book, Humor Me 
• Watch How to Be a Better Human videos on YouTube at TEDAudioCollective
• Follow TED on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok

For the full text transcript, visit go.ted.com/BHTranscripts

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