TED Talk Binge

I spent the last few nights sitting in a recliner taking care of my son who was just born.  I do not want to give out all the details but there was a close call, an emergency surgery, and a very worried husband.  My world was rocked pretty hard.  Fortunately everyone is home and doing well.  I have not slept much.  And during the nights, I could not seem to put my son down nor fall asleep with him while holding him.  I decided to watch some TV to pass the time.  “No mindless TV” I thought.  I began binge watching Ted talks.  I was in the mood for change, inspiration, self-improvement, and discovery.  I started with the happiness videos and a funny thing happened.  I got inspired and very excited.  I started taking notes.  I started thinking “oh my God, I need to tell other people to try this.”  All kinds of things have been happening.  I started meditating roughly 10-20 minutes a day with the help of apps like headspace and 10% happier.  I feel like it has already been helping me not get caught up in thoughts.  I then moved on to the videos on self-improvement and inspiration. 

A few monks I met at the high altitude Lukla Airport, Nepal.

After watching all these videos, taking notes, embracing the lessons, and feeling the desire to improve myself, I also noticed the desire to do something else with my life.  I came up with a new purpose for my life which is to be happy and to spread happiness.  I get excited when I think about doing things such as 30 day challenges, write a novel in 30 days in November, seek out rejection, start a blog, and just doing things for others that feel like a true contribution.  More importantly I am finally learning about me and what kind of life I should be living, not some scripted life where we are told what we are supposed to do.  

So what can I conclude right now about all this?  I think it is very hard to formulate a central theme to all this but I am thinking that it all leads to trying to live the best life I can and share it with others.  Things are changing rapidly and I will need to provide an update but I can safely say that if you are ever feeling in a rut or in need of a pick me up, you should definitely try a TED talk binge.  You might just end up changing the world.

I created a list of my TED Talk Binge highlights that I glance over often and it rapidly puts me into the right frame of mind and makes me feel better.  This took quite a bit of time to create.  I love this list.  Feel free to download it here.  Mike Mulick’s TED Talk Pearls

Here are a few of the videos that I think were important:

1. Meditate and be mindful by Matthieu Riccard.

 

2. Want to be happy?  Be grateful.  Very simple and powerful by David Steindl-Rast

3. A very powerful talk where Simon Sinek illustrates how “why” we do anything is more important than the “what” and “how.”

 

4.  Need some inspiration?  Scott Dinsmore’s talk can get you fired up.

 

5. More on meditating by Andy Puddicombe.

 

What do you think?  Ever have a personal crisis that catapulted you into action and all kinds of great things came out of it?  Drop a comment and let me hear about it.  If you are interested in hearing more about my TED talk binge, I’ll be soon sharing a post where I get into my top 30 TED talks for inspiration and action.  

 

 

2 thoughts on “TED Talk Binge

  • Thanks for the awesome synopsis of must-see TED talks. Admittedly I get overwhelmed by the number of them so this is great. And congrats on the birth of your son! And also I hope you and your wife are getting some sleep by now 😉

    • DrShannonTapia! Wow, first comment on my site ever. I must be dreaming. Thanks for visiting!

      Thanks! We had a rough time and it changed me forever. Yes we are finally sleeping better. One of the greatest things I ever did this binge. I made a list of the key pearls from my 50 best ted talks on happiness. I started meditating and practicing daily gratitudes and journaling. It really saved me. I’m trying to figure out what else to do with what I learned.

      I look forward to reading more on your blog!

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