There's something oddly satisfying about watching any TED talk, even if I'm listening to a guy talk about a psychopath test.
That's because, within a mere 10 minutes of video, I get access to the knowledge of an individual's entire life of research and insights.
It's like reading a book, but faster.
Here are 10 mind-blowing TED talks that I've actually woven into my daily life.
How to make stress your best friend — Kelly McGonigal
This is a brilliant TED talk that explains why believing that stress is harmful to your health is more harmful than actually being stressed.
The whole talk is based on how you think about stress and the way you perceive it has a lot of effect on your body, all backed up by science.
She also talks about Oxytocin, and its effect on the stress hormone — 'How stress makes you social'.
The studies shared in this talk are really interesting, so you should definitely spend 15 minutes of your time watching this video.
The 8 secrets of success (in 3 minutes) — Richard St. John
This talk is one of the OGs, it was released around 16 years ago.
A very simple but meaningful approach to the question, 'How do I be successful?', explained in 3 minutes using 8 words.
I watch this almost every week to remind myself of these 8 very important words.
A simple way to break a bad habit — Judson Brewer
This talk will help you understand the concept of positive and negative reinforcement, which is one of the bases of many self-help books today.
When you approach your bad habits mindfully, you've already completed half the work of stopping them.
Mindfulness helps with everything. It's really useful to know what's happening to your body and brain when you are doing something that feels good but isn't actually good for you.
Your body language may shape who you are | Amy Cuddy
As much as we hate it, people judge.
And when they don't know you (verbally), the only means of judging is through your body language. Your body language can sometimes also equal your whole personality (even if it isn't true).
But this is not what the talk is about. It's about how body language affects you. Does having a confident pose actually change your confidence?
The speaker has answered this question brilliantly.
Inside the mind of a master procrastinator — Tim Urban
This is one of the most viewed TED talks of all time and one of my absolute favourites.
I've been reading Wait But Why before Tim Urban gave this TED talk, and the way he has explained the art of procrastination hilariously, will change your view about a lot of things.
He also talks about the kind of procrastination that is less well known — The 'I-don't-have-a-deadline-to-keep-myself-in-check-or-get-shit-done' type.
What really impresses me about a lot of TED talks is how each speaker provides excellent evidence and logic behind each point they express.
Not only do they back everything up with science, but also explain it in a way that will convince you to use their ideas.
2024 resources
Thanks for reading! If you found this useful:-
- 💬 Join the discord server!
- ☕️ Buy me a coffee :)
- 🔖 Resources to live a more productive life.
- 📝 You might find this interesting — Let's go back to the basics — What is it that you really need to actually be productive?