These 5 TEDx talks don't have the views as some of their more popular counterparts, probably because they've been released in the months since Fall 2012.
Each of these speakers offers specific tips and action steps for changing your life in positive ways.
The first three focus on selflessness and gratitude, while Priya Parker offers advice on overcoming fear and inertia to move forward in pursuit of a life where you thrive. Paul Wood shares guidance for breaking free of mental prisons. And I threw in a bonus video from Sean Aiken who reminds us to seek and find the thing that makes us feel alive.
Polly Young-Eisendrath TEDxMiddlebury
“Getting Free of Self-Importance is the Key to Happiness”
Dr. Polly Young-Eisendrath points out that “we are not the fixers or fashioners of our lives.” After defining self-importance and happiness, Dr. Young-Eisendrath talks about four of the self-conscious emotions (shame, guilt, envy and jealousy) that cause so many of us to choose self-importance over the spirit of oneness that yields the greatest happiness.
This TEDx talk is a great companion to those by Dr. Brene Brown.
Katia Sol TEDxMission
“The Transformative Power of Gratitude”
Dr. Katia Sol works with the Ecology of Leadership Program at the Regenerative Design Institute in California. The Ecology of Leadership Program asks:
What are the shifts that need to happen on an inner level that then will create the possibility for transformation on an outer level that we really want to see in our lives, in our communities and in our world.”
Katia shares these reasons about why gratitude is special:
It's an affirmation of life itself.
Turns our focus from the negative to the positive.
Opportunity for reframing — new lense on life.
Connects us to something greater than ourselves, cultivates a sense of wonder and awe.
[Tweet “Gratitude helps us recreate our communities from the inside out. Katia Sol”]
Jane Ransom TEDxChennai
“Discover The Three Keys of Gratitude to Unlock Your Happiest Life”
Jane Ransom also focuses on the power of the gratitude to transform our lives. Her work grows out of the science of neuroplasticity which centers on research that studies our capacity to reprogram our brains by changing what we focus on.
There's a minor audio glitch between approximately 12:25 until 14:15, but it's corrected. You can still hear Jane Ransom easily, but the audio level is much lower during that 2 minute interval.
[Tweet “”When you change yourself you change the world” – Jane Ransom”]
Priya Parker TEDxUHasselt
“How to Quit Your Life and Reboot”
Priya offers 7 techniques to help you overcome fear, quit your uninspired life and reboot. In her consulting and research work through her firm Thrive Labs, Priya has found that fear is the emotion that drives choices to remain in prestigious but unsatisfying professional careers.
The driving question Thrive Labs helps individuals and organizations to ask and answer is this:
What is the biggest need in the world that I might have the passion and capacity to address.
Paul Wood TEDxAuckland
“What's Your Prison?”
Prisons can be mental, as well as physical. Paul offers 5 steps to freedom.
Bonus Short Talk
Sean Aiken TEDxVancouver
“What Makes You Come Alive?”
Sean Aiken is well-known for his One-Week Job Project where he set out to work a different job each week for 52-weeks to find his passion. Although his approach isn't useful for most of us, his message about the work-consciousness revolution that's now underway is an important one.
