TED Community » Carol Harnett

More About Me

I'm passionate about

making health cool; the impact of happiness on health; telling stories; engaging audiences; getting people to see the other side of issues; communicating big picture ideas;

An idea worth spreading

There is no doubt that Americans' health status is declining. I don't know if it is realistic to try to permanently change the lifestyle behaviors that are underlying most of the chronic disease conditions in the U.S...at least in the adult population. We're pretty much baked and done by the time we're 18 years old. We want to change but, at best, most people are episodically good.

If this presumption is true, is there any hope? My belief that happiness may be the way to go. I don't know if I can make you any happier, but I may be able to do things that do not make you unhappier. There is some evidence that people who say they are mostly or completely happy spend less on health care, are at work more often, and are more productive. This may be an idea worth chasing.

Talk to me about

What makes you happy and keeps you happy. Resilience. The Bataan Memorial Death March - a marathon through the desert of White Sands, NM.

People don't know that I'm good at

Dancing... and teaching people how to hug.

My TED Story

I started as a TED voyeur, went to TED Aspen, hosted a TEDx and am now headed to my fourth TED Long Beach. It feels both like a natural evolution and that I'm part of a tribe.

Comments

• TEDCred score: +196.20 TEDCred reflects your contribution to the TED community.

• A comment on Talk: Dan Ariely: What makes us feel good about our work?

  Apr 13 2013: I've spent a good part of my career working in the field of employee health and productivity. In a clear and simplistic way, Ariely explains how to maximize employee productivity. And, the bonus, you don't have to figure out how to change employees' health behaviors.

• A reply on Conversation: How can the TED community help inform people about some of the issues associated with Kony 2012 & Invisible Children?

  Mar 18 2012: I appreciate your comments, Andy. I believe we need to show as much balance as we can around this and other issues. TED is a great forum to vet our beliefs, thoughts, ideas and information. Warm regards, Carol

• A comment on Conversation: How can the TED community help inform people about some of the issues associated with Kony 2012 & Invisible Children?

  Mar 16 2012: Thank you, Mireille. We're each doing our part.
• +2

  A reply on Conversation: How can the TED community help inform people about some of the issues associated with Kony 2012 & Invisible Children?

  Mar 9 2012: Thanks for your note, Nicholas. In less than 24 hours, I've become much more informed about this topic. While I can and did write a dissertation on health care, I am not as well-versed on the political topics in central Africa. But, today, I stand better informed.
  
  That said, I like the approach Kathryn is taking. She is using the Cover the Night event to better inform people. It's a positive way to take the momentum Kony 2012 is creating to give people a way to help. I will do the same.
  
  This morning, I went out to FB and posted the information I gleaned from this TED exchange and others. I also went out to YouTube (over 52 million views so far), disliked the video and wrote a short post as to why. I also shared the positive information with links on Twitter.
  
  Here's what I've learned from trying to change human's health-related behaviors. Don't make people feel shame. Work with their emotions to bring them to a better place. And let them choose how to get involved.
  
  Personally, I've been to Africa. I also do work with education and Charity : Water. This experience with Kony 2012 has made me more committed to do even more.
  
  While I now agree that bringing Kony to justice is the wrong focus, I appreciate that people seem to need succinct rallying points. Maybe what the TED community can do is to help inform people in a positive way.

• A reply on Conversation: How can the TED community help inform people about some of the issues associated with Kony 2012 & Invisible Children?

  Mar 9 2012: That's terrific. It's a great way to use the momentum of Kony 2012 while directing participants to other organizations.
• +1

  A reply on Conversation: How can the TED community help inform people about some of the issues associated with Kony 2012 & Invisible Children?

  Mar 8 2012: Thank you for the information, Kathryn. As Juan said, I should have done my homework.
  
  Perhaps something worth considering is to use the momentum created by Kony 2012 to spread the word about Joseph Kony.
  
  So, maybe the idea should be, how do we spread the word about Joseph Kony without attaching ourselves to a questionable non-profit?
• +1

  A reply on Conversation: In our move toward the "quantified self" when we regard our health and the health of others, are we ignoring the importance of rituals?

  Sep 29 2011: Perfectly said.
  
  I have a friend who, only moments ago, was sent off for a MRI. Completely unnecessary given all the other findings.
• +1

  A reply on Conversation: In our move toward the "quantified self" when we regard our health and the health of others, are we ignoring the importance of rituals?

  Sep 28 2011: Hi again Deborah,
  I was thinking about your comment on the use of evidence-based medicine. I think the concepts of observations, conversation and touch can be successfully combined with the application of evidence-based medicine from the standpoint of applying the best treatment for the patient.
  Evidence-based medicine's focus was meant to primarily make certain that the patient was receiving the best care for his/her situation and was meant to avoid treatments that had no impact or did harm. Coincidentally, sometimes that saves money for the health care system, too.

• A comment on Conversation: In our move toward the "quantified self" when we regard our health and the health of others, are we ignoring the importance of rituals?

  Sep 27 2011: Hi Ed, I am not familiar with "tapping." I will have to do some research on that term. In the U.S., the cost of health care has people buried in the data in pursuit of an answer to rising costs. I believe it's difficult for most to get beyond looking for hard numbers right now. I agree that health is often a balance of many elements, including emotions and spirit.
  Hi Deborah, I appreciate your comments. It is important to hear from the direct caregivers. I used to do clinical work and know of what you speak. Defensive medicine is a problem in and outside the U.S. I once saw some research indicating that if a physician or health care practitioner made an error that simply admitting it, explaining what happened and saying, "I'm sorry," significantly decreased patient lawsuits. Unfortunately, legal advisors recommend strongly against this approach.
  I believe that some corporate leaders are trying to see a bigger picture than metrics by looking at other issues such as employee and patient global well-being, but they are currently in the minority. Maybe discussions like this one will help.
• +1

  A comment on Conversation: What is your favourite single sentence from a TED Talk?

  Jun 25 2011: "The richest and fullest lives balance work, love and play.  All three must be pursued with equal dedication."
  - Erik Erikson, as quoted by Doris Kearns Goodwin, TED 2008.