Watch this when
There's more to life than being happy | Emily Esfahani Smith | TED
Maybe you're not failing at happiness. Maybe you're hungry for meaning. Belong. Serve. Wonder. Tell your story. 🧭
Who it's for
The constant message to be happy can make feeling flat or empty seem like personal failure.
Stuck→Hopeful
Feelings it meets
What it is
In this TED2017 talk, writer Emily Esfahani Smith contrasts happiness, which comes and goes, with meaning, which she says comes from serving something beyond yourself and developing the best within you. She describes her own experience of chasing happiness and feeling adrift, then sets out four pillars of a meaningful life: belonging, purpose, transcendence and storytelling.
Where to find it
YouTube, official TED channel (free). Transcript on TED.com; also a TED-Ed lesson.
Before you start
Heads up: Brief mention of suicide rates.
Age: Ages 12+
It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet, “On Giving”
