In this post, the Liv Northgate Blog is celebrating Look on the Brightside Day here in Gilbert, AZ. Look on the Brightside Day is coming up on December 21st, and we’re helping you prepare and celebrate with five TED talks embracing creativity, positivity, and innovation. We hope that these tips help you become a more positive person this month.
Grit: The power of passion and perseverance
Angela Lee Duckworth studies the difference between successful and unsuccessful students. Successful students have grit; unsuccessful students don’t. Duckworth discusses the benefits of grit and offers a possible solution to fostering it in ourselves and in others.
Quote: “Grit is passion and perseverance for very long-term goals. Grit is having stamina. Grit is sticking with your future, day in, day out, not just for the week, not just for the month, buy for years, and working really hard to make that future a reality. Grit is living life like it’s a marathon, not a sprint.”
Sarah Lewis teaches us a little bit about perseverance, mastery, and the benefits of a near-win. She argues that almost winning — and never feeling completely satisfied, always picturing something more perfect in the future — can keep us motivated to do better and keep going when failure seems imminent.
Quote: “We build out of the unfinished idea, even if that idea is our former self. This is the dynamic of mastery.Coming close to what you thought you wanted can help you attain more than you ever dreamed you could.”
Elizabeth Gilbert: Success, failure and the drive to keep creating
Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of Eat, Pray, Love, discusses what keeps us going even when failure sits at our doorstep: love. Gilbert urges listeners to find what they love and stick to it, even when doubt and distress threaten to tear down what you’ve built. Love will keep you going through epic failures and maybe even lead to success.
Quote: “Look, I don't know where you rightfully live, but I know that there's something in this world that you love more than you love yourself. Something worthy, by the way, so addiction and infatuation don't count,because we all know that those are not safe places to live. Right? The only trick is that you've got to identify the best, worthiest thing that you love most, and then build your house right on top of it and don't budge from it.”
Tali Sharot speaks of how our brains are hardwired for optimism, and how our “optimism bias” affects how we perceive ourselves (and others). She discusses both the benefits and pitfalls of optimism in this TED talk.
Quote: “Whatever happens, whether you succeed or you fail, people with high expectations always feel better. Because how we feel when we get dumped or win employee of the month depends on how we interpret that event.”
The happy secret to better work
Shawn Achor discusses the happiness that can come from embracing a positive attitude and the benefits of positivity in your work and in your personal life. He also discusses ways to make your brain think more positively.
Quote: “If you can raise somebody's level of positivity in the present,then their brain experiences what we now call a happiness advantage, which is your brain at positive performs significantly better than at negative, neutral or stressed. Your intelligence rises, your creativity rises, your energy levels rise. In fact, we've found that every single business outcome improves.”
What are your favorite TED talks on optimism? Leave us a link and your best “positive thinking” tips in the comments. Thanks for reading!
