What we consume always determines the lives that we live!
We all struggle to create that dream and fulfilling life with clarity, confidence and satisfaction in everything we do. And in the process, we go through several phases that sharpen, challenge and groom us creating the need for inspiration, motivation and support to thrive on.
If you are currently in that phase of searching for some serious motivation to uplevel and improve your life, you are in the right place. I will be sharing ten best motivational ted talks that will positively influence your mind and give you the best motivational boost to improve your life.
Motivational ted talks are a great way to get inspired and get motivated to improve yourself both personally and professionally. Ted talks have played a great role in my self-improvement and development journey helping me sharpen my perception and perspective towards life. I’ve watched hours and hours of several motivational ted talks and the impact on my mind is always positive.
Motivational ted talks are a great tool and resource to fill up your mind because your mind is like a factory and whatever you consume and build on pours ingredients into this factory and this is what builds up the fundamentals of your life.
Most motivational ted talks are hosted by individuals who have gone through certain challenging phases in their lives and overcame. And so, when you see a ted talk on how to be happy or a motivational ted talk on life, you should be rest assured that you are about to tap into the story of a fighter.
Some of the best ted talks come in podcasts. Podcasts stimulate mental imagery more intensely than watching or reading because they force you to pay more attention and you have to build pictures in your mind while you listen.
Here are the best short motivational ted talks I can recommend that would motivate you and you should try listening to available or related podcasts of each or watching the videos.
Let’s dive in!
The Surprising Science Of Happiness- Dan Gilbert
Dan Gilbert breaks down happiness into two compartments which are: the happiness we create and the happiness we stumble upon. Synthetic happiness refers to happiness that comes from our good thoughts about events that may seem bad at first. And this happiness is deemed inferior, compared to the natural happiness which comes from when things go as planned.
Gilbert challenges the concept that we will be miserable if we don’t get what we want. He says our beliefs on what will make us happy are often wrong and this makes us poor predictors of our bliss. Your “Psychological Immune System” lets you feel truly happy even when things do not go as expected.
Discard the mentality that makes your happiness conditioned because you have within you the capacity to manufacture the very commodity you are constantly chasing when you choose your own experience. Dan’s motivational ted talk is one of the best out there! Click here to watch the full motivational ted talk.
The Power Of Vulnerability- Brene Brown
In her motivational ted talk, Brene Brown says that we need to become more self-aware and explore our emotions. Most times guarded people are seen as strong but they have their true feelings suppressed which causes nothing but continuous stress and pain.
Vulnerability is the opposite of weakness and it takes true strength and courage to allow yourself to be vulnerable. Being vulnerable is accepting your real self and allowing others to identify that authentic you.
Fear and criticism are unavoidable and must show up anyway, own up to your own mistakes, and continue to move forward because “there is no innovation and creativity without failure.” Brene believes that vulnerability is all about knowing and accepting imperfection and the ideal motivation for vulnerability is the chance to be in touch with your real self.
The forces of insecurity and fear might still linger no matter how you fight it so you must face them with courage and confidence in your authentic self and know that you are capable of overcoming whatever poses as a challenge. According to Brene, “You are enough, so be willing to show up.” Click here to watch the full motivational ted talk.
What Reality Are You Creating For Yourself? – Isaac Lidsky
This is one of the best ted talks for self-motivation. Isaac Lidsky is a Harvard-trained lawyer, entrepreneur, father, speaker, among others and despite him being blind, he has a lot of achievements, and when asked how he did all that he responded saying “Only you create your reality.”
Lidsky in his ted talk said what you see impacts how you feel and the way you feel can change how you see because our brains are connected to our sight. He further says what you see is a complex mental construction of your own making.
For example, a hill seems easy when you’ve just finished exercising but a straight lane appears difficult when you are wearing a heavy backpack. You create your reality and you believe it. If you do not confront the reality of any fear you have created, you will continue to live in it.
Hold yourself accountable for every thought and every detail. See beyond your fears. Recognize your assumptions. Correct your misconceptions about luck and success. Accept your strengths and your weaknesses.
Your fears and insecurities are fictions you perceive as reality and you must choose to see through them and let them go because “you are the creator of your reality.” Click here to watch the full motivational ted talk.
The Puzzle Of Motivation- Dan Pink
Undoubtedly one of the best motivational ted talks on the internet. Dan Pink poses that motivation has three intrinsic elements which are: Autonomy, Purpose, and Mastery.
He says, autonomy is the desire to direct our own lives and is a key aspect of motivation. Then mastery is the desire to continually improve at something that matters. The enjoyment that comes from the satisfaction of personal achievement and progress is something that drives humans.
Pink describes purpose as the desire to do things in service of something larger than ourselves. People intrinsically want to do things that matter from “making a difference” to simply aiming for a promotion at work.
Dan Pink believes that traditional rewards aren’t as effective or motivating as we think it is rather the best way to motivate people today is the provision of autonomy, purpose, and mastery. Click here to watch the full motivational ted talk.
What Makes A Good Life? – Robert Waldinger
Robert Waldinger is the current director of a 75-year Harvard study that seeks to know the cause of human happiness. He says that while many people tend to think that fame, fortune, and hard work will bring us happiness, it is our social connections that are more important for our well-being.
According to his research, having social connections is what is better for our health and well-being, and loneliness kills.
Also, having higher quality close connections is better and more important than the number of connections, and that having good relationships is not only good for our relationships but our brains. The quality of your relationships can affect your health. Living in close and healthy relationships can protect your body and brain.
In Robert’s words “The lessons aren’t about wealth or fame or working harder and harder. The clearest message that we get from this 75-year study is this: Good relationships keep us happier and healthier.
Robert Waldinger ended his talk with a Mark Twain quote which says “There isn’t time, so brief is life, for bickering, apologies, heartburns, calling to account. There is only time for loving and but an instant, so to speak, for that.” Click here to watch the full motivational ted talk.
The Psychology Of Positivity- Shawn Achor
Shawn Achor talks about a study that showed 75 percent of professional successes included in the study could be attributed to positivity. People who focused on the positive aspects of their situation tended to achieve their goals more professionally.
In his ted talk, Shawn narrated a story of how his younger sister fell from the bunk bed to the floor while they were playing and he had her arm got broken. In a bid to make her not cry loud and wake their parents, he convinced her that no ordinary human could land the way she did and that for her to land that way, she had to be a unicorn.
Little Amy quietly climbed back to her bed with the gracefulness of a baby unicorn and a broken leg. He managed to make little Amy feel good about herself by speaking positively about the situation.
Focusing on the negative aspects of life and your career can plague you. Your attitude towards a situation largely determines the outcome of that situation.
We are all guilty of being pessimistic about situations instead we must learn to retrain our brains to capitalize on positivity and improve our productivity and performance. Even the smallest shots of positivity can give you a serious competitive edge.
Positivity is contagious, so if you are the type to always look on the dark side of a situation or the dark side of life, start to brighten up your outlook and you will not only inspire yourself but those around you. Click here to watch the full motivational ted talk.
Your Elusive Creative Genius- Elizabeth Gilbert
Elizabeth Gilbert talks about how you can realize the creative genius inside you. She conveys the fact that “genius” is something that is in everyone and being a genius isn’t as rare as we believe.
Gilbert uses an example of a poet she met who likened the creative process to a rumbling that would sweep across the ground and she had to chase it and catch it before it got away. If she caught it in time, the rumbling would turn into a great poem and if she missed it, that poem would be forever lost to the wind. Thinking like this can get your creative juices flowing.
Do not try to explain creativity with concrete terms but rather be creative with your explanations.
We have somehow internalized and accepted collectively this notion that creativity and suffering are somehow linked, and that artistry would somehow end in depression or loneliness.
Elizabeth’s talk aimed to shift the way our society thinks about our creative genius, hoping to help people especially artists, manage the emotional risks that often come hand-in-hand with creativity.
Open your mind to new ideas. Do not judge everything. Do not underestimate yourself. Find your bliss. Allow yourself to think unconventionally. Click here to watch the full motivational ted talk.
How To Be Your Best Self In Time Of Crisis- Susan David
In a special virtual conversation, psychologist Susan David shared wisdom on how to build resilience, courage, and joy amid the current ill facing the world.
Susan David says that we all know internally that at some level there is this complex and intimate relationship between the beauty of life and the fragility of life. We are healthy this minute and sick the next. We love and then we lose.
She further explained that we should not push negative emotions aside when we go through crises rather learn to face them. You must give yourself a space to come into yourself, to come into your own emotions, to not try to brush away grief or anxiety but rather accept and face them.
In those trying times, reach inside yourself and find courage. Susan in her talk said we can use strategies to enable us to be with those difficult emotions in healthy ways, which is the foundational experience of what she calls “emotional agility.” And this is ultimately what will bring out the best of ourselves in every aspect of life. Click here to watch the full motivational ted talk.
The Three A’s of Awesome- Neil Pasricha
The three A’s of awesome according to Pasricha is having a good attitude, a great level of awareness, and an authentic personality. You can’t always predict the future, but you can determine your attitude towards it. When things do not go as planned, it’s okay to acknowledge how you feel.
In Pasricha’s words “There are times in life when you will be tossed in the well, with twists in your stomach and holes in your heart, and when that bad news washes over you, I just really hope that you feel like you’ve always got two choices which include dwelling on the pain or facing the future and choosing the latter option requires a great attitude.” Awareness involves embracing your inner three-year-old.
On the other hand, authenticity leads people to follow their hearts and this makes you have enjoyable experiences because you designed the life you wanted to live. Click here to watch the full motivational ted talk.
Love, No Matter What- Andrew Solomon
In this motivational ted talk, Solomon talks about how a parent’s love can be so strong for a child yet may not be able to accept that child if he/she is fundamentally different from others maybe by being disabled, being a criminal, or being gay. Solomon stresses on the fact that we must love unconditionally.
When he and his partner decided to start a family, a friend asked him what he would do if something went wrong and Solomon replied and said “I’m not studying everything that can go wrong. What I’m studying is how much love there can be, even when everything appears to be going wrong.” Click here to watch the full motivational ted talk.
Love unconditionally. Love, no matter what.
FOR YOU:
Hey there! Thank you for reading this piece. I strongly believe that motivational ted talks are some of the best ways to get your spirit fired up on days when you are down. Having a good mental stamina is key in your pursuit of success and that is what motivational ted talks aim to achieve. Stay motivated!
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