Some days I feel like I can conquer the world and others I can conquer the first two things off my to-do list and that’s only if I want to do said things. It’s okay to say, “I can’t because I don’t want to,” but on those days when you can’t and you kind of need to, I listed to either Alan Watts who’s my favorite philosopher (Check out “What is Money Were No Object” ) and Ted Talks. The right Ted Talk can motivate the coziest couch potato out there. Here are a few of my favorite Talks and a quotable from them.

“No one gets to the corner office by sitting on the side, not at the table and no one gets the promotion if they don’t think they deserve it or they don’t even understand their own success.” – Sheryl Sanberg

Talk about a boss. Sheryl is Facebook’s COO is constantly reminding women to take a seat at the table and sit there. Even if you don’t think you belong there, just take a seat. That’s the first step. This Ted Talk discusses the gender leadership gap in the corporate world..

“We’re raising our girls to be perfect and we’re raising our boys to be brave.” – Reshma Saujani “Teach Girls Bravery, Not Perfection.”

When you need some reassurance to leap before you look before making that out there decision that gives you butterflies, this is a good one. I know people tell you not to leap before you look all the time but sometimes you have to be brave and that doesn’t mean your decisions have to be perfect. The concept of being perfect is creating this fear where instead of leaping we do nothing.  Doing nothing can be more detrimental than making a bad decision.

“Being yourself can be a revolutionary act and in a world that wants us to be whisper I choose to yell.” –Luvvie Ajayi Jones “Get Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable”

On those days when you want to crawl up in your shell or you feel a little bit of Imposter Syndrome sneaking up, Luvvie will show some love to your confidence.

“Confidence is the difference between being inspired and actually getting started.” – Brittany Packnett “How to Build Your Confidence”

If it’s a little shot of confidence boost you want, Brittany Packnett definitely packed it into her Ted Talk on the topic.

“I had to face the fact that my life is built with paper walls and so is everyone else’s.” Kate Bowler

This one is a reality check. As an optimist, it’s hard to listen to sometimes but when I need a little grounding I think about it. Everything doesn’t happen for a reason and we don’t have to justify or figure out the world around us but the truth is we won’t. It might actually do more harm than good walking around with this toxic positivity culture. We wouldn’t have positivity without a little negativity and it’s important to remember that.

“Work doesn’t work without play.” – Shonda Rhimes “My Year of Saying Yes to Everything”

When you need the motivation to stop what you’re doing and an excuse to get out of hustle culture, think about Miss Rhimes. She figured out that she was stressing herself out more by avoiding playtime. Turning your hustle off is healthy and stay away from anyone who tells you differently because you don’t need that kind of negativity in your life.

The truth is words can heal as much as they can hurt and these beautifully crafted motivational moments are an awesome way to ground yourself in the moment and motivate yourself on what’s next.

What’s your favorite Ted Talk or motivational speech?