Looking for some inspiration and to work on your personal development? Here are 5 TED Talks that will inspire you and teach you new things about personal growth that you can apply in your life, RIGHT NOW!
If you’re reading this blog post, then you’re probably like me : you like to learn, you want to work on yourself and become the version of YOU! (yay for that!)
When it comes to personal development, we’re so lucky to have an endless amount of resources out there. From documentaries to podcasts to TED Talks…there is an abundance of useful and inspiring content for us to continuously be learning.
However, it can be overwhelming at times. Where do you even start?
I get it. I’ve been there. When I first started getting into personal development, I didn’t know where to start and would sometimes feel so overwhelmed that I wouldn’t even know what to listen to or what to read!
In the last little while though, I’ve made it a habit to listen to one self-help podcast episode every day, and to listen to a documentary or a Ted Talk, every single day. And I try to do it without pressure, because when you remove the pressure of having to do something, it’s easier to approach from a more inspiring place.
This is a personal goal I set for myself to make sure that I’m always learning and growing and working on myself. Because knowledge is power, and the more you immerse yourself in a topic, the easier it will be to apply it in your life.
Since I’ve consumed so much personal development content, I thought that I would do a roundup of my favourite TED Talks that I’ve saved and keep going back to because they’re so inspiring and full of useful information.
I hope that this will help remove the overwhelm, especially if you’ve been wanting to get into personal development more actively, but you didn’t know where to start.
These are the most inspiring TED Talks that have inspired me, and I hope that they will inspire you as well to remember that you can create your dream life and that you CAN become your ideal self, if you simply work on yourself, every single day.
INSPIRING TED TALK # 1 | “The Surprising Science of Happiness” with Dan Gilbert
This Ted Talk was SO inspiring and gave me a more fact-based perspective on the meaning of happiness.
In this TED Talk, Dan Gilbert explains the difference between “natural” happiness, and “synthetic” happiness, and how we’re looking for happiness in the wrong things. This stems from the fact that our brains have a tendency to assess the outcome of a situation of the impact of a “thing” inaccurately.
- Related : 6 Habits of Happy People
For example, our brains tend to predict how we’re going to experience something, and it will make us think it will be worse than it is. When in reality, things are less bad as we expect them to be.
Gilbert goes on to explain how our perception and understanding of something will determine our level of happiness, and we have the capacity to be happy without constantly searching for it.
Because we think that happiness is something to be found, whereas it’s something that we can already experience without anything.
This TED Talk was really inspiring because it helped me understand happiness from a different perspective – to see, from a different lens, how happiness is truly something we can create in our lives, no matter what.
PIN NOW, READ LATER!
INSPIRING TED TALK # 2 | “How to Humour Your Stress” with Loretta Laroche
If you’re not familiar with Loretta Laroche’s work, then this is a great place to start for your personal development journey, especially if stress is something that you struggle with.
In this TED Talk, Laroche uses humour to help us understand how stress is something that we experience because of ourselves, and not necessarily because of external circumstances.
- Related : How to Take Control of Your Life
It’s how we choose to experience situations that will determine our levels of stress, and not the situation itself.
This is a reminder of the power of your mindset and how you choose to go through an experience.
INSPIRING TED TALK # 3 | “The Three Secrets of Resilient People” with Lucy Hone
In this TED Talk, Lucy Hone offers an inspiring and EMPOWERING perspective on how you can take control of any situation in your life, no matter how bad it might seem.
She shares the 3 secrets of how you can increase your ability to deal with bad situations :
- Knowing and accepting that there will be suffering in your life and you can’t escape it.
- Learning how to channel your focus on the things you can control, and accepting the things that you cannot control
- Always focusing on the positive of a moment and a situation, and trying to choose joy, no matter what
INSPIRING TED TALK # 4 | “How to Motivate Yourself to Change Your Behaviour” with Tali Sharot
I loved this TED Talk because Tali Sharot shares a scientifically founded tool to change a behaviour, which can be used for any habit you’re trying to change.
Tali first explained why we justify decisions and behaviour to ourselves, even though we have the knowledge and sometimes the fear of the negative repercussions of those choices (i.e. smoking).
- Related : 7 Tips on How to Have a Productive Day
She then explains that the secret to motivate yourself to change your behaviour, instead of using pressure and fear, is to understand that humans favour growth and progress. If we can learn how to use that as a source of motivation to implement a new habit or change a behaviour, then we increase our chances to change a behaviour.
The following 2 were given as tools to change behaviour:
- Social incentives : you are more likely to mimc the same behaviour and choices as others when you compare yourself to others
- Progress monitoring: by emphasizing progress, you are more likely to feel encouraged and motivated to continue implementing a new habit
INSPIRING TED TALK # 5 | “How to be a Miracle Worker” with Gabrielle Bernstein
Gabrielle Bernstein is another powerhouse in the personal development sphere, and with good reason.
In this TED Talk, she shares the importance of tapping into your intuitive power to guide your life towards a more inspiring and empowered place, where you are in-tune with yourself and where the Universe is guiding you.
Bernstein shares that when you learn how to remove external pressures from yourself, and you learn how to tune into your heart and yourself, you already have all the answers and the guidance that you need to make important decisions and choices in your life.
WANT MORE?
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- “CREATE A LIFE OF LOVE + PURPOSE” MASTER CLASS | Learn the tools and strategies to live a more meaningful and happy life. Click HERE to learn more.