The world is in an absolutely unprecedented period right now. I know – we’ve heard the word ‘unprecedented’ way too many times over the past few months. But, it’s hard to think of any other word to describe the world that we’re living in right now. Regardless of the uncertainty that exists, it is so incredibly important to remember to be grateful. Whether it’s finishing a project on time, watching some cheesy Hallmark movies at night (guilty!), spending time with your family, or even simply eating your favorite meal/desert—finding gratitude in the littlest of things is what can really turn your day around. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, we wanted to make sure that we practice what we preach, so we’re going to give you our take on a TED Talk that talks about all things gratitude and asks the question, “Is it happy people that are grateful or grateful people that are happy?”

Maria’s Reaction:

We often hear that as humans, we all seek happiness, but the reality is that the journey looks different for every single person. I appreciate that in Steindl-Rast’s talk we were able to see one strategic way we can all apply ourselves to achieve that ultimate goal: by being grateful. I have personally seen the impact that being grateful has directly had in my life. When you stop and really look at life using all of your thoughts, emotions, and senses, you can see the immense possibilities of gratitude. I began with a 5 minute gratitude journal at the beginning of 2020 and it has been a key factor in helping me find some mental peace even with the pandemic. As the talk says, it is about constant grateful living, and becoming aware that each moment, each opportunity is a gift. Gratefulness will always beat an environment of scarcity. 

Aditi’s Reaction:

I’ve never really thought critically about where gratefulness comes from, so I really loved Steindl-Rast’s explanation of its origin: an experience that is both valuable and a gift. The gift element really stood out to me as it reminded me of how many gifts I have in my life, which I never had to work for or earn. It made me think about my family, my home, and my health, which aren’t givens for everybody. Steindl-Rast helped me evaluate the specific aspects of my life that I should be grateful for and recognize as true gifts, making them even more valuable. 

Parredhi’s Reaction:

By virtue of being a very Type A person, I love having plans. I love knowing what my day will look like. I love having an agenda. I love planning my day out hour by hour, very meticulously. Clearly, COVID turned all of that upside down, inside out, and topsy turvy, leaving me a little bit lost, confused, and frankly, frustrated. It was hard to think of anything to be grateful for when every plan I had made for myself was quickly useless. My favorite part about this talk by Steindl-Rast that I think I can apply to my life is the three steps to capture the opportunity that exists in every moment: stop, look, and go. Having plans is good, but it inherently inhibited me from “living in the moment.” I actually decided to resume my gratitude journal during quarantine, so every night, before I go to bed, I write down three things that I’m grateful for and I pick one of those things to dissect for two minutes, where I just write down how I felt in that moment. It’s amazing how doing something so small has really made me realize how lucky I am, and it helps me focus on the good of every day rather than the bad. As Steindl-Rast says, “we have to build stop signs into our lives” to truly be grateful.

TEDsgiving 2020

We invite you to watch this talk and share with us your perspectives on gratitude! As we discuss gratitude, we are highly grateful for our amazing TEDxUTAustin team. To demonstrate our appreciation, we recently held our annual TEDsgiving with a virtual twist! This was a time for our members to come together, cook some delicious meals and share what each person is grateful for. We separated into teams and all got to work over Zoom as we prepared food and shared laughs, connecting even though we are apart. Once the full team was on the call with their food ready, we had an ice breaker led by Meg regarding what our favorite Thanksgiving traditions were and who we thought our Spotify artist of the year was going to be. It was so great to hear what everyone cherished around the holidays and what our different music interests were overall. It is important for us to always learn from each other! 

We then moved on to the competition portion of TEDsgiving where every team showed off their amazing, unique dishes, which ranged from pumpkin-flavored churro balls to lava cakes! Since we couldn’t be in person to try each team’s dish, team members described the taste of their food while trying it themselves. Everyone made sure to use creative words and out-of-the-box methods to make their dishes sound Food Network-worthy! We ended off the night by going around and sharing what each of us are grateful for, which was certainly the highlight of the night. It was interesting to hear everyone’s different perspective on this past year, and how their experiences have impacted what they are grateful for. This marked the end of another successful TEDsgiving, and we are already looking forward to next year’s!

Until next time we connect,

TEDxUTAustin