3 Ted Talks to help you kick-start the new year!

📍DISCLAIMER: If you’re looking for some advice and wisdom that will suddenly change your life and make everything perfect … you’re in the wrong place. I can remember many times that I find myself binge watching self-help videos on YouTube at 2am in the morning, hoping that something will finally click. The hard truth is most change comes gradual and can take a long time (trust me, I know 😮‍💨) and requires you to actually make the active decision to change and then stay consistent. So if you are in search for actual methods that can help create effective change, you are in the right place! 😎

My story with Ted Talks began when I was in grade 5. As a method to encourage my brother and I to be more aware of what’s going on in the world and curious, my dad would encourage my brother and I to watch at least once a day, on any topic of our choice. To be honest, I had found them hard to understand and quite boring; I would literally rather watch paint dry. Fast forward couple years now, Ted Talks have become a constant in life and as a way for me to find new perspectives that I’ve never considered as well as leave with a new found knowledge. With the new year starting, I thought I’d share some of my favourite Ted Talks that will hopefully help you in achieving some of your goals! 💯

1. How to Practice Emotional Hygiene | Guy Winch

This is one of my personal favourites because it highlights the the fact that we often focus more on physical wellbeing than our mental wellbeing. This is something that I personally struggle with. I often find myself focused on achieving my goals, balancing multiple things at a time that it’s only when I’m fully burnt out that I begin to realize that I’ve neglected my mental wellbeing. I think it’s super important that we find ways and methods to take care of both our mental and physical wellbeing, not one over the other.

2. The Psychology of Self-Motivation | Scott Geller

I think of the hardest part of the transition from highschool to university is that in high school we didn’t have much choice on what we learned. From grade 1 to 12, school was a routine and something we had to do without questioning. In university, it’s a bit different. We have to be the ones to motivate ourselves and I think this becomes really hard when the courses or major we choose don’t necessarily aligns with our interests. This Ted Talk helps by providing a method and strategy to get motivated and stay motivated.

3. How to gain control of your free time | Laura Vanderkam

If you’re like me, you probably have a ton of interests, clubs and organizations you wanna get involved with, while also trying to balance academics and having a social life. Which, to be frank, can get really overwhelming. This Ted Talk by Laura Vanderkam provides a key aspect which is prioritizing! Though easier said than done, being able to prioritize allows us the freedom to actually achieve the goals that are the most important to us.

Final thoughts ☁️

With social media and every other form of media, it is so easy to start comparing yourself to other people which is simply unhealthy. Instead, focus on you and whatever goals you may have for this new year, keep in mind that what matters most is growth and whatever that is and looks like is 100% up to you!

xx,

Bolu 🫶🏾