So I watch Ted Talk occasionally, and I want to share some of my favorites here. From my perspective, these talks are inspiring, thought-provoking, and incredibly funny and have changed my perspective. And…most important criteria, I also watched them more than once!
Some topics might interest you, and if you do so, you may watch it with a company of a cup of warm tea (or coffee), and hopefully with some pisang goreng. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! ☕
1) Inside the master of procrastinators | Tim Urban
Admit it, we are all procrastinators haha, I am definitely one. However, how does it work and why do we keep procrastinating? I love this talk because you can easily relate to it; the guy, Tim Urban, is so so funny, he is a great presenter; and you can actually learn to do better by becoming less procrastinating. I play this video many times in my classes (very important for students! lol).
Deadlines help us to focus, but in many important issues, we don’t have deadlines like for example keeping your body healthy, maintaining your relationship, and pursuing activities that you always want to do. So how do we deal with it?
2) Why people believe they can’t draw – and how to prove they can | Graham Shaw
I feel this is not just about drawing. How many times have we told ourselves that we can’t do things that we always want to do? There are so many negative narratives that we keep saying to ourselves like I can’t draw, I can’t swim, I can’t talk in front of people, I can’t play music, I can’t write, I can’t dance and the list goes on.
I love this particular Ted Talks because well, I proved to myself that I can draw (lol), and most importantly it is indeed helped me to have a better perspective of myself.
3) Thoughts on humanity, fame and love | Shah Rukh Khan
We can learn so much from this talk. It’s a funny and charming talk from the living legend about his traces of life and the wisdom he gained along the way as reflected by humanity. I think Shah Rukh Khan is such a great presenter! I love how he engaged the audience, the very smart storyline, and creatively not even using any visuals or slides to make a point.
4) The Art of Letting Go | The Minimalists
When I first watched this video a couple of years ago, I had no idea about minimalism. Though I kind of had the concept in my head, I didn’t quite understand how it works and how we can implement this in our life.
I like this talk because it is thought-provoking and can change your perspective about material possession. You might be inspired to be a minimalist like I do!
5) Quit social media | Dr. Cal Newport
We all might get the idea of how social media could negatively impact our lives, like how this potentially leads us to anxiety and depression However, I hadn’t found someone that is so strong about the importance of quitting social media and actually doing it. Meet Dr. Cal Newport! We can learn so much from him.
6) What does the Quran really say about a Muslim woman’s hijab? | Samina Ali
So this might be a controversial topic in my country, as I see many of us are more conservative which leads to some social pressure in the society. I personally love this Ted Talks because it helps me to understand the teaching of my religion through context and, with and logic.
7) How I made friends with reality | Emily Levine
It’s funny and deep at the same time, a talk by late philosopher comedian Emily Livine. She passed away this February (RIP). The lesson is let’s not fear death nor fight against it.
As she beautifully said “I am incredibly grateful for life and I don’t want to be immortal. I love to be in-sync in the universe. It’s what’s extraordinary about life. It’s a cycle, generations…and re-generations and de-generations.. Life is an enormous gift, you enrich it as best you can, and then you give it back.”
8) Why I don’t use a smartphone | Ann Makosinski
It’s a story of a young girl who grew up without being spoiled by technology and became an inventor. I have tons of respect to Ann, I am much older than her but I couldn’t even imagine myself living without a smartphone, nor inventing something useful. I could watch again this talk to remind me how I would do parenting in the future.
TRI NURAINI 
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