9 Powerful TED Talks To Boost Your Self Confidence

I have a confession to make. I’m a TED addict. So much so, I almost cried when I realised they weren’t showing them on Netflix anymore (thankfully this lead me to discover the actual TED website with them all on it… not the same but a close substitute).

I want to share with you a collection of my favourite TED talks to boost your self confidence.

These aren’t just talks that will tell you to ‘talk positively about yourself’, ‘exercise and eat well’ or to ‘love yourself more’.

These talks will challenge your way of thinking about yourself. They will make you look at yourself in a different way, talk about yourself in a different way and re-evaluate how you fit into this world.

1 – Tony Robbins – Why We Do What We Do

I absolutely love Tony Robbins. I am a massive fan and could listen to what this man has to say and absorb every single word, every single day.

He is captivating and to be honest, one of my favourite points in this talk is where he identifies himself as ‘The Why Guy’. The guy who challenges you to question why you do what you do.

Your why, and your understanding of your why is essential to your self confidence. Knowing not only who you are and what you do – but why you do it makes you more sure of your place in this world.

2 – Amy Cuddy – Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are

It isn’t difficult to see from the title why this would be one of my favourite self confidence related TED talks. Examining how body language is a form of communication, and one that not only affects how you feel about yourself, but also influences it.

This was the first place I had heard about the ‘power pose’ and it’s physical changes to your hormone levels and self confidence and is now a practice I have incorporated into my life too!

3 – Matt Cutts – Try Something New For 30 Days

A nice, quick and to the point talk about how Matt decided to start using 30 day challenges to do things he had always wanted to do. He was surprised at how doing these challenges inadvertently resulted in a boost in his own self confidence.

4 – David Kelley – How To Build Your Creative Confidence

David’s talk opens our eyes to the idea that we were so creative as children, without fear of criticism and judgement… until the moment when we were judged. Then creativity became a fear for many.

He also talks about the phobias in our lives and their relationship to self confidence. With a focus on the idea that we are all creatives, this talk really gets you wondering what fears are holding you back from embracing your creativity.

5 – Meaghan Ramsey – Why Thinking You’re Ugly is Bad For You

An incredibly confronting talk that examines body image, how we perceive ourselves and the actual day to day impact this has on our lives. This talk made me sit up and really take notice.

Meaghan asks ‘when did we stop loving ourselves?’, a difficult question for any person to answer. This is one of my most favourite TED talks of all time and one I rave about to so many people.

(This is not the original video for this talk – sometimes the originals are archived and hard to find. BUT – it’s such an important talk, I’m including the only link I could find).

6 – Stefan Sagmeister – The Power of Time Off

Stefan is a serial TED talker and this talk is my favourite of his because it discusses such an important topic – taking time off from your work.

Stefan talks about the benefits of planned time off (not just sporadic, wake up and not do anything kind of time off) and how putting less pressure on ourselves allows more room for creativity.

7 – Elizabeth Gilbert – Success, Failure and the Drive to Keep Creating

How easy is it to just give up when things become tough… or uncomfortable. Elizabeth talks about how even when we have been greatly successful, we still have a fear of failure, as she experienced after the wild success of her book Eat, Pray, Love.

I love the idea that we have a ‘home’ – not a physical home as such, but one in which we are happy, content and safe, the place we keep coming back to regardless of successes or failures.

8 – Brené Brown – The Power of Vulnerability

Possibly one of the most popular TED talks of all time, this talk questions whether or not you believe you are worthy, asks why and how we numb our emotions and why vulnerability is so important.

One of my favourite messages is the need to treat ourselves kindly in order to practice compassion – because unless we are compassionate with ourselves we cannot be compassionate with others.

9 – Brené Brown – Listening to Shame

In a follow-up to her previous TED talk, Brené clarifies that vulnerability is not weakness, as many believe, but is actually courage. She encourages us to never be afraid to fail and that shame is what makes us fear failure.

Brené also explains that while guilt is a result of feeling like you have done a bad thing, shame is a result of feeling that you are a bad person. It is also explained that empathy is the antidote to shame.

There is a reason why this talk has been listened to almost 7 million times and the last 60 seconds are absolutely amazing.

What are your favourite TED talks to boost your self confidence?