Why it's best to celebrate the little wins and imperfect moments alongside the big successes to combat our fear of failure.

If you can't do it perfectly, why do it at all? Recovering perfectionist Charly Haversat challenges our obsession with perfection in our personal lives, workplaces and beyond. Can we fight the crippling fear of failure and the unwillingness to compromise that it creates?

Social psychologist Thomas Curran explores how the pressure to be perfect -- in our social media feeds, in school, at work -- is driving a rise in mental illness, especially among young people. Learn more about the causes of this phenomenon and how we can create a culture that celebrates the joys of imperfection.

To post or not to post? The real question is: How do you feel about it? Author Naomi Shimada reflects on the anxiety-inducing aspects of social media, sharing advice on how to step back from the shame, optics and echo chambers of the internet and untangle your self-worth from follower counts, likes and the unattainable perfectionism perpetuated ...

Thomas Curran studies the personality characteristic of perfectionism, how it develops and its impact on mental health.

You spend a quarter of your life at work. You should enjoy it! Organizational psychologist Adam Grant takes you inside the minds of some of the world's most unusual professionals to discover the keys to better work life. From learning how to love your rivals to harnessing the power of frustration, one thing's for sure: You'll never see your job ...

The Do’s And Don'ts Of Returning To The Office Tuesday, June 7, 2022 Adam Grant: It's been more than two years since offices shut down, many people were sent home, and meetings turned into video calls...And now leaders want people back to the office! But many people have mixed feelings about that. [MUSIC] Thalia: What do I think about going b...

About this event: Dr. Rosenberg will discuss her work to help us reframe Imposter Syndrome which will include addressing lack of skills, knowledge versus having them plus other intersecting practices that involve harsh self-criticism, perfectionism, diminishing accomplishments, refusing compliments, not speaking up, with strategies for dealing with this in our da...

What if one person could change the world? What if we could harness our collective talent, insight and wisdom? And what if, together, we could spark a movement with positive impact far into the future? For a third year, UPS has partnered with TED to bring experts in business, logistics, design and technology to the stage to share ideas fr...

About this event: Welcome to the first-ever TEDx Holy Trinity School event, taking place on May 20th at Richmond Hill, Canada. The theme will be centring around the concept of “Ripples”. As we currently undergo one of the most unprecedented times in human history, it is crucial for us to explore the significance of impact and changes happening around our current ...

About this event: You are cordially invited to the next TEDxTheHague salon! Our April edition — themed Isms Cause Schisms — is curated by TEDxTheHague: "Dogmatism, perfectionism, sensationalism... isms have the power to take over our lives — if we let them. But what’s behind these isms? Sometimes it’s a role we play, a mask we wear, to get the approval we crav...

Procrastination isn't shameful or a character flaw. Instead it's rooted in a very human need: the need to feel competent and worthy, says educator Nic Voge. This post is part of TED’s “How to Be a Better Human” series, each of which contains a piece of helpful advice from someone in the TED community; browse through all the posts here. “It's...

About this event: Failure can be devastating, but it can also make us stronger and more resilient. What if we accepted that failure is part of success and embraced it instead? Entrepreneur and director of the Failure Institute Leticia Gasca calls us to move beyond shame and humiliation in her talk ‘Don’t fail fast- fail mindfully’ business educator Eddie Obeng ca...

Thoughts like these are completely normal, but many moms feel ashamed of having them. Here’s how to let go of self-judgment and too-high expectations, from reproductive psychiatrists Alexandra Sacks and Catherine Birndorf. I’ve have been working in women’s mental health for the past decade and my mission has been to educate people about the ide...

About this event: Perfection is an illusion! There's always scope for continuous improvement. No matter how hard we try to idealise things, they may fall apart. That's life. But one must not take it as a complete failure, if you're wise, you can use every scrap, patch yourself up and keep going. That's the essence of resourcefulness, resilience, persistence. It's...

About this event: The archetypal, clichéd world of today has become a garden of remembrance for many a fallen martyr overwhelmed by the enduring idea of perfectionism. The strong alliance to the sense of being perfect has been so deeply incorporated into civilization, that striking equilibrium is now considered old-school. Quitting this dangerously inherent cult ...

You might not realize how much perfection is getting in the way of your freedom and your joy, says Reshma Saujani, founder and CEO of Girls Who Code. Take this quiz to find out.  

How to Be a Better Human How to Find Your Voice (with Greta Morgan) (Transcript) July 18, 2022 [00:00:00] Chris Duffy: You're listening to How to be a Better Human. I'm your host, Chris Duffy, and today we are gonna be talking about finding your voice by any means necessary with singer and a musician who has performed on some of the world's la...

WorkLife with Adam Grant Dolly Parton is burning up, not burning out Transcript April 5, 2022 [00:00:00] Adam Grant: Hey WorkLifers, it’s Adam Grant. Today I’m excited to bring you a conversation I had on Clubhouse with a legend. Thanks to our sponsors LinkedIn, Morgan Stanley, ServiceNow, and UKG for making it possible. Joining me today is t...

Re:Thinking with Adam Grant Brené Brown on What Vulnerability Isn't February 23, 2021 Adam Grant: (00:00) Hey WorkLifers, it's Adam. Season four is launching this spring, in the meantime, some exciting news. Each season we've done a couple of bonus episodes where I have a discussion or a debate with a thought leader. You asked for more of those...

How to Be a Better Human How to be okay when things are not okay (w/ Mollie West Duffy and Liz Fosslien) (Transcript) August 29, 2022 Chris Duffy: I’m your host Chris Duffy and you’re listening to How to Be a Better Human. Okay so before we get into this episode, I have to give you a disclaimer: of all the guests we’ve ever had on the show, o...

Sometimes trying your best isn't enough; when the situation demands it, you need to be perfect. For Jon Bowers, who runs a training facility for professional delivery drivers, the stakes are high -- 100 people in the US die every day in car accidents -- and it's perfection, or "a willingness to do what is difficult to achieve what is right," tha...

Globally, about 10% of people will experience an eating disorder during their lifetime. And yet, eating disorders are profoundly misunderstood. Misconceptions about everything from symptoms to treatment make it difficult to navigate an eating disorder or support someone you love as they do so. Anees Bahji shares what is— and isn't— true about ea...

Have you had your daily dose of fun? It's not just enjoyable, it's also essential for your health and happiness, says science journalist Catherine Price. She proposes a new definition of fun -- what she calls "true fun" -- and shares easy, evidence-backed ways to weave playfulness, flow and connection into your everyday life.

In an invitation to slow down and look at the world around you, graphic journalist Wendy MacNaughton illustrates how drawing can spark deeply human, authentic connections. Ready to try? Grab a pencil and join MacNaughton for this delightful talk. "Drawing is looking, and looking is loving," she says.

You may need to hear this (if you haven't already): your job is not your family. While you can develop meaningful relationships with your colleagues, calling work your family can actually breed burnout and be detrimental to your mental and emotional health. Mental wellness educator Gloria Chan Packer walks through the exercises you need to shift...

We can see the power of distributed, crowd-sourced business models every day — witness Uber, Kickstarter, Airbnb. But veteran online activist Jeremy Heimans asks: When does that kind of "new power" start to work in politics? His surprising answer: Sooner than you think. It’s a bold argument about the future of politics and power; watch and see i...

About this event: 1. Miryam Z. Wahrman, Ph.D. BIO: MIRYAM Z. WAHRMAN is Professor of Biology at William Paterson University of New Jersey, where she directs a research laboratory in microbiology, studying bacteria on environmental surfaces. An expert in Bioethics, Professor Wahrman has developed and teaches graduate courses in Bioethics and Research Methods, an...

We usually wear our thickest armor at work, and Brené Brown has blazed the trail of teaching us why—and how to shed it. In this conversation, Adam and Brené unpack the power of showing vulnerability at work—and explore how much is too much. Learn when and where to set boundaries, find out how to get more comfortable with being uncomfortable, and...

Host Debbie Millman talks to author and researcher Brené Brown about belonging, courage, and vulnerability. Design Matters with Debbie Millman, the show about how incredibly creative people design the arc of their lives, is now a member of the TED family of podcasts through the TED Audio Collective. Listen or subscribe wherever you get your podc...