5 Must-See TED Talks That Will Inspire You

TED talks are one of the most accessible sources of education and inspiration online. There’s a TED talk for almost every single topic. As we enter month four of lockdown (yes, it really has been four months), it’s normal to feel a little uninspired and demotivated. The emergence of COVID-19 has given many people the time and space to reflect on as well as re-evaluate their purpose.

In this post, Francesca from Chessi Blogs will be sharing five inspirational TED talks you need to watch:

It’s no secret that we could all use a bit of inspiration and motivation. Whether you need motivation to complete a task or work towards a goal, TED talks could help you. Knowing how to set and achieve your goals isn’t always easy. There’s absolutely no shame in needing a little inspiration from time to time.

I was introduced to TED talks at school. They were used to provoke thought and debate. Since then, I’ve been hooked hence why I’ve put together a list of 5 inspiring must-see TED talks:

Stop Waiting For Life To Happen – Peter Sage

Peter says “There’s so many things we could do that we end up doing nothing”. I think we can all agree that this can be true at times. How many times have you wondered what to do and ended up watching TV because you couldn’t decide? How many times have you spent more time deciding what to do than actually doing something? And how many times have you experienced stressful emotions or even had a row with someone you care about because you didn’t know what to do? Think about this next time that situation comes up.

Stop wasting your life trying to make decisions. Get up and do something! Something is better than nothing, even if it’s not the most productive, fun or exciting thing you could do.The rest of Peter’s TED talk focuses on the idea that we are brought up to feel like love is conditional based on how we behave. He goes into some detail and uses some great examples to support his points. This is well worth a watch.

Stop Searching For Your Passion – Terri Trespicio

The topic of Terri’s talk is passion. She explains how much pressure people feel to ‘find their passion’ and pursue it, whereas what we need to realise is that: A) you can have more than one passion; and B) not everything you do has to be based on your passion(s). One of my favourite quotes from this talk is when she says “passion is not a plan, it’s a feeling”. You don’t have to decide on one thing to focus on and then stick to it for your whole life. Feelings can change!

How Do You Define Yourself – Lizzie Velasquez

Lizzie is a very inspiring young woman who has an extremely rare medical condition which prevents her from gaining weight. She talks about the struggles AND benefits of the syndrome and how it has affected her life. The way she explains how she dealt with bullying is so clear and simple that it makes you question bullying altogether. Bullying does have a profound effect on a person’s self esteem, but if people approached and dealt with it the way Lizzie did, then there’s a possibility that the bullies would get bored and stop pursuing them. Who knows?!

The overall message of her talk is that, no matter what struggles you have faced in your life, you do not need to be defined by them. You are your own person. Just be yourself.

Ending The Pursuit Of Perfection – Iskra Lawrence

This is probably one of my absolute favourite TED talks! Iskra focuses on body image and how we should be focusing on self-care especially in times when we are so over exposed to social media and other pressures. I am a firm believer in self-care as a tool to improve mental health and I believe everyone should have their own self-care routine.

Iskra uses her own experiences to explain how self-loathing and a distorted body image can have a huge impact on how you think, feel and act towards yourself. Aiming for ‘perfection’ is not the way to make yourself happy! Our definition of perfection is based on what we see online and in magazines, etc but those images are often edited, which means that we are aiming for a target which doesn’t exist. 

If you take anything away from this TED talk, let it be that you are enough. You are beautiful just the way you are. Learning to love yourself is the only way to achieve true happiness.

The Skill Of Self Confidence – Dr Ivan Joseph

This TED talk is all about self-confidence and one of the key things that I took away from this was Dr Joseph describing self-confidence as a ‘skill’. It’s very common for people to think of confidence as a state of mind or a personality trait but it’s not! As he explains, you can improve your confidence just like any other skill, by practising.

I challenge you to practice the art of self-confidence in whatever way you want to. You could do it in the same way that Dr Joseph does it or you could come up with something new. But whatever you do, remember that repetition is the key to success. Don’t give up after one try. Keep going until you see results. Anyone can be self-confident but only some people will be able to perfect the skill. 

These TED talks because the topics apply to everyone and they all have a powerful message we can take away and use in our own lives.

Francesca blogs at Chessi Blogs. You can also find her on the following social media platforms:

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