11 TED Talks To Watch When You're Feeling Lost

Lost with life and its ironic ways.

TED has just recently released a new TED Talk playlist consisting of "11 Talks to get you through your quarter-life crisis."

Of course not everyone may deem it useful, or maybe just plainly naive. But for some of you out there that is feeling lost with life and its ironically humorous extremities; that can't seem to get your shit together, that is feeling the inevitable frustration of entering adulthood, that is caught between the juxtaposition of your desire to be a vagabond and the need to be stuck in a cubicle to survive reality, these videos might just be the good old pat in the back you need to lead your way out of the endless maze that is life and all the shit that comes with it.

1. "The power of believing that you can improve" by Carol Dweck

TED / Via youtube.com

Carol Dweck researches “growth mindset” — the idea that we can grow our brain's capacity to learn and to solve problems. In this talk, she describes two ways to think about a problem that’s slightly too hard for you to solve. Are you not smart enough to solve it … or have you just not solved it yet? A great introduction to this influential field.
(Credit: TED)

2. "The art of asking" by Amanda Palmer

TED / Via youtube.com

Don't make people pay for music, says Amanda Palmer: Let them. In a passionate talk that begins in her days as a street performer (drop a dollar in the hat for the Eight-Foot Bride!), she examines the new relationship between artist and fan. (Credit: TED)

3. "Why 30 is not the new 20" by Meg Jay

TED / Via youtube.com

Clinical psychologist Meg Jay has a bold message for twentysomethings: Contrary to popular belief, your 20s are not a throwaway decade. In this provocative talk, Jay says that just because marriage, work and kids are happening later in life, doesn’t mean you can’t start planning now. She gives 3 pieces of advice for how twentysomethings can re-claim adulthood in the defining decade of their lives. (Credit: TED)

4. "The psychology of your future self" by Dan Gilbert

TED / Via youtube.com

"Human beings are works in progress that mistakenly think they're finished." Dan Gilbert shares recent research on a phenomenon he calls the "end of history illusion," where we somehow imagine that the person we are right now is the person we'll be for the rest of time. Hint: that's not the case.

(Credit: TED)

5. "Don't regret regret" by Kathryn Schulz

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We're taught to try to live life without regret. But why? Using her own tattoo as an example, Kathryn Schulz makes a powerful and moving case for embracing our regrets.

(Credit: TED)

6. "Why you will fail to have a great career" by Larry Smith

TED / Via youtube.com

In this funny and blunt talk, Larry Smith pulls no punches when he calls out the absurd excuses people invent when they fail to pursue their passions.

(Credit: TED)

7. "Listening to shame" by Brené Brown

TED / Via youtube.com

Shame is an unspoken epidemic, the secret behind many forms of broken behavior. Brené Brown, whose earlier talk on vulnerability became a viral hit, explores what can happen when people confront their shame head-on. Her own humor, humanity and vulnerability shine through every word.

(Credit: TED)

8. "Before I die I want to..." by Candy Chang

TED / Via youtube.com

In her New Orleans neighborhood, artist and TED Fellow Candy Chang turned an abandoned house into a giant chalkboard asking a fill-in-the-blank question: “Before I die I want to ___.” Her neighbors' answers — surprising, poignant, funny — became an unexpected mirror for the community. (What's your answer?)

(Credit: TED)

9. "Embrace the near win" by Sarah Lewis

TED / Via youtube.com

At her first museum job, art historian Sarah Lewis noticed something important about an artist she was studying: Not every artwork was a total masterpiece. She asks us to consider the role of the almost-failure, the near win, in our own lives. In our pursuit of success and mastery, is it actually our near wins that push us forward?

(Credit: TED)

10. "Be an artist, right now!" by Young-ha Kim

TED / Via youtube.com

Why do we ever stop playing and creating? With charm and humor, celebrated Korean author Young-ha Kim invokes the world's greatest artists to urge you to unleash your inner child — the artist who wanted to play forever.

(Credit: TED)

11. "Are you human?" by Ze Frank

TED / Via youtube.com

Have you ever wondered: Am I a human being? Ze Frank suggests a series of simple questions that will determine this. Please relax and follow the prompts.

(Credit: TED)