TED Talk Unit 4

“Even injustice has its good points.
It gives me the challenge of being as happy as I can in an

unfair world.” Albert Ellis https://www.cbttherapies.org.uk/2022/02/09/albert-ellis-founder-of-
rebt-in-his-own-words/
‘Why me?’… ‘The world is against me’… ‘I’m just unlucky’… ‘I can never catch a break’… Do you
find yourself repeating any of these expressions in your thoughts? Any one person would be
hard pressed to deny that we haven’t experienced a proverbial ‘woe is me’ moment from time
to time, but have you found these sayings creeping into your thoughts more insidiously? The
way that life unfolds is in a manner of peaks and valleys, meaning we all exposed to ups and
downs. It just a natural part of the human experience. Managing the peaks of your life comes
with far more ease than dealing with the difficulties of those valleys. Some people have
mastered the art of managing those valleys with much more grace than others. Have you ever
observed an individual with little to nothing and yet they are still contagiously happy? Or have
you witnessed someone go through tragedy and still show love and compassion for those
around them? Have you wondered how one can go through so much pain and still find
fulfillment in life?
The day I found freedom. July 21st, 2017 I apprehensively walked into The Prudential Center
amongst 14,000 other participants who purchased tickets to attend the Tony Robbins Unleash
The Power Within live event. My motive to attend this event came from a feeling of defeat and
hopelessness in my life. I felt out of control and had been dealing with severe anxiety and
depression. I had been going to counseling, reading self-help books, and taking good care of
myself physically, but I wasn’t finding any solutions. I was 35 years old in the ninth year of an
extremely toxic relationship, the second year of a fatiguing custody battle and dealing with an
unproductive recovery from my eighth unsuccessful shoulder surgery while battling a bone
disease I contracted from my initial surgery a decade prior. I could chalk up the last ten years of
my life as constant pain, physical, mental, and emotional. I was exhausted. I felt listless. I could
feel the fight draining from my body. I had daydreams of jerking the wheel into oncoming traffic
as I watched semis speeding past me. Attending this event is what one might call a last-ditch
attempt. In those following ninety-six hours, the trajectory of my entire mindset changed. In
one short but intense event, I got my life back. Now I won’t say that there was just one thing
that will be the answer to changing your life, but I can say there is one thing I can equate the
dramatic shift in my mindset to. In my life I had gotten stuck in that perpetual victim cycle. In
not being able to control anything that was happening around me I gave into the idea that I was
not in control of my life, and I gave my power away. I took my ability for happiness out of my
hands and placed it in the care of outside sources to my detriment. The one life changing idea
that I was introduced to at the event was that I was in control of my own happiness. As little as
this notion sounds it is hugely impactful. We tend to think we can control many aspects of our
lives and find discomfort when we fail or experience trials and tribulations. Tony Robbins
introduced me to the idea that the only decisions in this life that we can control are what we
focus on, what things mean to us, and what to do despite the challenges that may appear to
limit us. For me, this shift resulted in freedom. Freedom from anxiety, freedom from
depression, and freedom from feeling out of control. I took my power back. Even in the most
devastating events I get the choice to let it make me or break me. I get to choose if I am going
to let an unfortunate event or series of events define who I am or keep me from happiness. I
choose whether other individuals actions leave me reeling in anger, regret, despair, or grace,
compassion, and empathy. From the day I stepped out of that event my entire life has been a
wild experience of adventure, challenges, laughter, and purpose. There are still many factors
that are unpleasant, but I have dialed in my skills to tackle the less favorable areas with grace
and pull the good from the bad, because you can’t have one without the other.
From one person out here trying to live with purpose, I urge you to take your power back.
When faced with situations as little as getting cut off in traffic all the way up to losing a loved
one take a moment to stop, reflect, assess, and decide how you want your experience in life to
continue. Will you let it hurt your peace or will you allow yourself to feel it and move forward
with positivity and understanding. Can you find gratitude in the pain, grace in the betrayal, or
compassion in the anger? I can tell you for sure that when you hold yourself responsible for
your own happiness regardless of what outer forces conspire, you will be free to live the life
you desire. “Whatever you hold in your mind on a consistent basis is exactly what you will
experience in your life.” Tony Robbins
https://twitter.com/TonyRobbins/status/637266065391681536
Reflection
I found that I had a slew of information that I wanted to incorporate in my TED Talk. I had so
many ideas for content as well as quotes and resources from books that I have read and other
events that I had attended. I feel extremely comfortable with sharing these ideas and my story.
I think that was the strong point of what works with my script. I have passion, personal
experience and purpose with this topic and it aligns with my field of study in Human Services.
When doing the prewriting practices for this I had a quarter of a notebook filled with
freewriting, ideas and concepts expounded from in mass. I was able to produce more than
enough information to pursue this topic.
What worked for me was the double edge sword of what I also believe did not work for me. I
had so much that I wasn’t even sure how to begin my TED Talk. I stared at a blank screen for
hours even after doing all the prewriting exercises. How do I make it make sense? How do I
turn these jumbled random thoughts into an effectively written piece that is clear, complete,
concise , and correct? What is my hook to draw the audience in? How do I relate this topic to
my audience to draw them in? How do I compress my story into a paragraph while still relaying
the pain in my struggle. How do I convey the importance? I really struggled with pulling it all
together.
Feedback is much appreciated! After reading my TED Talk script, what aspects were relatable to
you, if any? Where did you feel emotions or drawn in, if at all? Where do you think I could
expand or even compress? Would you be drawn to learn more about my experience?

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“Even injustice has its good points.

It gives me the challenge of being as happy as I can in an

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