If you’re a parent, then by definition you’re busy and also quite possibly
overwhelmed. When that’s the case, it’s time to rethink our approach and
seek perspective.
Here are five TED Talks that will inspire you to uncover happiness in
parenting, seize the reins of your work-life balance, live passionately,
learn passionately and mentor children who fall on the autism spectrum.
For Parents, Happiness is a Very High Bar
by Jennifer Senior
Jennifer Senior is an author on modern parenting, a writer for The New York Times and a mom. In this insightful talk, Senior
examines the trend of today’s parents to micromanage their children’s
lives, from checking homework to enrolling their children in countless
extracurricular activities and shouldering responsibility for their
children’s happiness. Senior commends parents on their well-intentioned
efforts to ensure their children’s success, but cautions that this level of
hyper-immersion is leaving parents overburdened and children overscheduled.
Instead of this exhausting child-rearing model, Senior suggests that
parents return to focusing on raising productive and moral kids by teaching
children the importance of decency, a strong work ethic and love. Senior
contends that this shift away from micromanagement and toward overarching
values will benefit parents by facilitating a more gratifying parenting
experience. Likewise, children will benefit from the opportunity to
accomplish goals on their own within a less-stressed household.
How to Make Work-Life Balance Work
by Nigel Marsh
Nigel Marsh is a self-proclaimed former “corporate warrior” and champion of
the work-life balance cause. In this fiery discourse, Marsh comes out
swinging by calling work-life policies such as flextime, paternity leave
and dress-down Fridays “rubbish.” Marsh, a father of four, clarifies that
when there are thousands of employees working long hours at jobs they hate
to have money to buy things to impress people they dislike, allowing these
employees to wear jeans on Fridays does nothing to treat the underlying
work-life dilemma.
Marsh counsels that it is up to us, not corporations or governments, to
tailor our own work-life balance, emphasizing that doing so doesn’t require
a dramatic upheaval in our day-to-day. Instead, Marsh urges us to make
small investments in increasing the quality of our relationships, such as
spending an extra hour with our children, calling our parents more often or
nourishing our spirituality.
These small changes, Marsh contends, can significantly increase our quality
of life and may transform society’s definition of a life well-lived.
How to Live Passionatel
y – N
o Matter Your Age
by Isabel Allende
Author Isabel Allende writes stories of passion including the best-selling
“The House of the Spirits.” Allende, in her seventies, encourages us to
resist the aging of our spirit by living life with a passionate attitude.
Allende candidly describes how she has become “lighter” over the years by
letting go of vanity, ambition and grudges. Allende celebrates the freedom
she has gained by replacing those “deadly sins” with spirituality,
mindfulness and the ability to see value in vulnerability.
Allende advises us to practice living passionately by gracefully accepting
life’s peaks and valleys – from success and comedy to loss and tragedy –
and by keeping love our focal point.
The Power of Believing That You Can Improve
by Carol Dweck
Carol Dweck is a Stanford University professor and a pioneer in the study
of how motivation impacts achievement in children. In this session on how
to improve the way children learn, Dweck summarizes compelling research
that identifies a link between a child’s opinion of his abilities and that
child’s willingness to persevere in the face of challenges.
Dweck explains that children with a predominantly “fixed mindset” see their
abilities as static and not subject to improvement. As a result, these
children lose confidence and motivation when learning new, increasingly
difficult tasks. In contrast, children who display a “growth mindset”
understand that the harder they work at solving a problem, the higher the
chance they’ll succeed. These children regard obstacles as opportunities to
expand their skillset and are more likely to maintain their motivation to
master a new skill when faced with challenging work and even failure.
Importantly, Dweck outlines the methods parents can use to help children of
any age remain confident and motivated when navigating difficult tasks, in
and out of school.
The World Needs All Kinds of Minds
by Temple Grandin
Temple Grandin is a professor at Colorado State University and a consultant
to the livestock industry. She also happens to be autistic.
In this moving talk, Grandin shares details of her life with autism and how
her ability to “think in pictures” and pay particular attention to detail
lead to her career success. Grandin discusses the breadth of the autism
spectrum, noting that brilliant innovators such as Einstein, Mozart and
Tesla would likely be diagnosed within the spectrum today.
Grandin is concerned that schools – especially in more rural areas – may
not be effectively developing the interests of children on the spectrum
who, if mentored properly, may excel in fields such as science, engineering
and technology. Grandin is especially troubled by the cuts in art programs
and other hands-on classes in which many children on the spectrum may
excel.
Grandin refers to the autistic mind as a “fixated mind.” Grandin stresses
that if an autistic child is fixated on LEGOs, for example, then educators
have to draw on that fixation to expand that child’s interest in building,
which may lead the child to a career in engineering or the sciences.
