There’s nothing like a good TED Talk to challenge your mind, give you a different perspective to look at, and to make you think a little outside the box.
In my pursuit of finding amazing TED Talks, and learning all I can about happiness, I looked a little closer at TED Talks that weren’t necessarily directly about happiness, but that covered topics that would or could indirectly influence our happiness and how fulfilled we feel in life.
I put together this collection of TED Talks about happiness that I found and loved and wanted to share with you.
While you watch them, think about whether or not the topic covered has relevance in your life now, or if you want it to be more relevant to your life, and think about what connection it has with your happiness.
Save this list, bookmark it, pin it, or binge watch all the TED Talks now. I promise you won’t be disappointed.
1 – A Rich Life With Less Stuff – The Minimalists
This talk is from the guys who bought the minimalist movement mainstream. They flip the idea of ‘rich’ from earning money and having things and wanting and having more, to being intentional and living a simple, happy, enriched life.
I was spending money faster than I was earning it, attempting to buy happiness.” This is the way so many people are living, and a way I too was living for a long time. Because that’s what we think is ‘normal’.
Simplifying your life and getting the clutter out of the way helps you make room for things that are important – and I guarantee those ‘things’ aren’t the cupboards of possessions you have right now.
2 – Getting Rid Of The Unnecessary To Get Down To Basics – Colin Wright
A highly entertaining TED Talk from Colin who travels the world and changes the country he lives in every 4 months.
From contemplating renting an apartment just to store his stuff while he traveled, Colin changed his mindset to create an intentional life that doesn’t just focus on the physical possessions in our life, but our relationships and the people we allow in our life, our work and everything that happens in our lives.
3 – How To End Stress, Unhappiness And Anxiety To Live In A Beautiful State – Preetha Ji
“The power to peace is always within you”.
This is a little longer of a talk but is incredibly captivating.
Which state are you living your life in? A state of stress and disconnection? Or a beautiful state of connection and happiness? And why does our brain gravitate towards a state of stress?
We need a big power to get to a beautiful state, and that big power is inner truth. An often inconvenient truth, but this truth is what can lead us to happiness and a beautiful state.
This is a very different talk than what I normally gravitate towards and I enjoyed the challenge of thought.
4 – Emotional Intelligence: Using The Laws Of Attraction – D. Ivan Young
Our mind is incredibly powerful, and the way we talk about things and think about things will reflect in our lives.
So often we focus on the negative ‘oh I’ll never have what they have’ or ‘my bills are so expensive’ and therefore subconsciously attract negative into our lives.
Choose how you use your mind. Take the time to be quiet, be still and listen. This is one of the best and most concise talks about the Laws of Attraction I have ever seen. So good.
5 – My Philosophy For A Happy Life – Sam Berns
I absolutely love that Sam talks about how he focuses on what he can do, rather than what he is limited in doing.
Such a beautiful talk about adapting your surroundings to help you achieve your goals, surrounding yourself with the right people (who see you for who you are), and by always moving forward.
In life it’s easy to get caught up in the negative, but with his 3 philosophies you can bring happiness back into your life. Such a profound and wise talk from someone so young.
6 – All It Takes Is 10 Mindful Minutes – Andy Puddicombe
When is the last time you took just 10 minutes to do nothing? Such a simple question, but one that so many of us would struggle to answer.
I have to admit, I suck at meditation, but it’s something I’m working on – increasing my focus/relaxation and being more mindful. When he speaks about being anxious about feeling anxious… that’s something so many of us can relate to (clearly, it’s not just me).
This reinforces how important it is to include mindfulness in our day to day lives. We can all spare 10 minutes out of our days to increase our mindfulness.
7 – How To Overcome Overwhelmed – Terry Brock
The first step to tackling overwhelm is actually understanding that you are in control. You are in control of your life, what you allow in, what you say no to, and the filters you place in your daily life.
I seriously love his approach to ‘I don’t know how to do that’ and reprogramming our thought process to say ‘not yet’ instead.
Rather than hiding away from the world and removing yourself from technology in order to reduce overwhelm, learn how you can use the tools available to you in order to overcome overwhelm.
8 – Getting Stuck In The Negatives (And How To Get Unstuck) – Alison Ledgerwood
I’m so glad I’m not the only person who gets stuck on negatives – it’s such a natural thing to do, especially as a people pleaser. How many times have you experienced this yourself?
My husband and I were discussing the successes we had and how often we quickly adapt to our successes and chase the next one, but we hold on to negatives for so much longer. You have to work to see the upside.
This is such a great talk to shake up how you approach your day and reframe how you talk about things in your life. Focusing more on the good things than the negatives and making more of an effort to see the upside.
9 – Less Stuff, More Happiness – Graham Hill
How much stuff are you storing?
This is a truly fascinating talk about how to maximise a small amount of space, edit your life and create a life and living space that is truly designed around what you love.
When you watch this talk, think about how the things around you, your stuff, is holding you back from living the organized life you want. We’ve all heard the term ‘less is more’ but do we actually stop and think of how this applies to our personal finance situation?
The more money we earn, the more we tend to spend, but perhaps the answer to happiness lies within having less stuff. ‘We need to think before we buy’ – just because we can buy it doesn’t mean we have to buy it.
An interesting take on how to think more about what you buy and how it can fit into your home and think more about multifunctional furniture and living spaces.
