Counterintuitive advice that will help you set and achieve your goals for the short-term, long-term and those moments in between.

In 2000, the UN laid out 8 goals to make the world better by reducing poverty and disease -- with a deadline of 2015. As that deadline approaches, Jamie Drummond of ONE.org runs down the surprising successes of the 8 Millennium Development Goals, and suggests a crowdsourced reboot for the next 15 years.

After hitting on a brilliant new life plan, our first instinct is to tell someone, but Derek Sivers says it's better to keep goals secret. He presents research stretching as far back as the 1920s to show why people who talk about their ambitions may be less likely to achieve them.

The same resolutions every year -- get more sleep, eat healthier -- we know the drill. Let these talks inspire you to keep with those goals and perhaps add a few more to your list too.

In athletics, in business, in life, everyone sets goals. But that's not the way to excel, according to former NFL player Emmanuel Acho, now an author and TV sports analyst. Here's what he says to do instead.

Psychologist Angela Duckworth studies the traits that allow us to stick to our goals — and she chose four great talks that explore other facets of how human beings behave.

For someone who doesn't believe in goal setting, Emmanuel Acho is highly accomplished. He's a former NFL linebacker, a TV sports analyst and the bestselling author of "Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man" -- and hosts a video series and podcast of the same name. In this episode, he shares why he's "anti-goals," how he consistently achie...

You can't just "find" motivation, says scientist Ayelet Fishbach — you have to learn how to motivate yourself. She shares a handful of tips backed by 20 years of motivation research, offering surprisingly simple wisdom on how to optimize your goals, set yourself up for success and avoid the tempting calls of procrastination.

It never hurts to have a basic set of guiding principles. Let these insightful talks help shape, redefine and build out your own leadership goals. (Curated in partnership with SAP)

Our leaders and institutions are failing us, but it's not always because they're bad or unethical, says venture capitalist John Doerr -- often, it's simply because they're leading us toward the wrong objectives. In this practical talk, Doerr shows us how we can get back on track with "Objectives and Key Results," or OKRs -- a goal-setting system...

"We are living in a world that is tantalizingly close to ensuring that no one need die of hunger or malaria or diarrhea," says economist Michael Green. To help spur progress, back in 2015 the United Nations drew up a set of 17 goals around important factors like health, education and equality. In this data-packed talk, Green shares his analysis ...

The hard choices -- what we most fear doing, asking, saying -- are very often exactly what we need to do. How can we overcome self-paralysis and take action? Tim Ferriss encourages us to fully envision and write down our fears in detail, in a simple but powerful exercise he calls "fear-setting." Learn more about how this practice can help you th...

ReThinking with Adam Grant The problem with setting goals with NFL linebacker Emmanuel Acho November 15, 2022 [00:00:00] Adam Grant: Hey everyone, it's Adam Grant. Welcome back to ReThinking: my podcast on the science of what makes us tick. I'm an organizational psychologist and I'm taking you inside the minds of fascinating people to explore n...

In 2017, Alex Honnold did what even the world's best rock climbers thought was impossible. He climbed to the top of El Capitan– a granite rock mountain more than 3,000 feet high– without a rope, harness, or net. His audacious feat was the subject of the Oscar-winning documentary "Free Solo," and it left Adam with some burning questions about wha...

Life-hack master Tim Ferriss gives an intimate look into the darker moments in his life, his Stoic philosophy, and his new passion for psychedelics. (Audio only)

Water is essential to life. Yet in the eyes of the law, it remains largely unprotected -- leaving many communities without access to safe drinking water, says legal scholar Kelsey Leonard. In this powerful talk, she shows why granting lakes and rivers legal "personhood" -- giving them the same legal rights as humans -- is the first step to prote...

The breathtaking geological formations of Cappadocia are one of the most astonishing landscapes on Earth. Also known as “fairy chimneys,” this impressive terrain hides an equally remarkable feat of pre-modern engineering: a network of extensive underground cities stretching deep below the surface. Who inhabited these cities, and why? Veronica Ka...

What does it take to be a pro gamer? Esports expert William Collis charts the rise of the multibillion-dollar competitive gaming industry and breaks down three skills needed to master video games like Fortnite, League of Legends and Rocket League. And watch out, Collis says: these skills can set you up for crushing it at work, too.

Ever gaze up at the starry night sky? This stunning view is at risk of disappearing -- unless we act now, says astrophysicist Kelsey Johnson. In this fascinating, unexpectedly funny talk, she explains how light pollution affects almost every species on earth (including us) and shares five "stupidly simple" things you can do to help solve the pro...

Can we end hunger and poverty, halt climate change and achieve gender equality in the next 15 years? The governments of the world think we can. Meeting at the UN in September 2015, they agreed to a new set of Global Goals for the development of the world to 2030. Social progress expert Michael Green invites us to imagine how these goals and thei...

Sayonara 2010s! Enjoy this look back on which popular TED Talks caught our attention from 2010 to 2019.

The pressures of having to make an amazing film sent this deadpan, deep-voiced, award-winning filmmaker into a crippling spiral of self-doubt and comic indecision. (Credits: Music by Stillhead; Executive Producer, TED2018 Film Program: Sinéad McDevitt; Director of Production and Video Operations, TED: Mina Sabet)

How do we respect someone's religious beliefs, while also holding religion accountable for the damage those beliefs may cause? Chelsea Shields has a bold answer to this question. She was raised in the orthodox Mormon tradition, and she spent the early part of her life watching women be excluded from positions of importance within the LDS Church....

Legendary actor and mental health advocate Glenn Close is on a quest to change how we think about mental health, starting with her decision to speak out about her own family's struggles — a brave choice considering the stigma that pervades the topic. In a sweeping conversation with TEDWomen curator Pat Mitchell, Close shares the inspiration behi...

Saving money is like working out or eating right -- it's easier said than done. Behavioral scientist Wendy De La Rosa streamlines the process with two quick tips that can help you achieve your goals.

Using a mobile app to check glucose levels, sending selfies to receive diagnoses and receiving text reminders to take pills. Is this what the future of healthcare will look like? Karalee Close believes it should, considering that medical mistakes are the fourth leading cause of death in the US. She argues that a closer marriage of technology, bi...

What could you do with the world's smallest 3D printer? Klaus Stadlmann demos his tiny, affordable printer that could someday make customized hearing aids -- or sculptures smaller than a human hair.

In the pitch-black night, stung by jellyfish, choking on salt water, singing to herself, hallucinating … Diana Nyad just kept on swimming. And that's how she finally achieved her lifetime goal as an athlete: an extreme 100-mile swim from Cuba to Florida -- at age 64. Hear her story.

You might have a 5-year plan, but what about a 200-year plan? Artist Raghava KK has set his eyes on an ultra-long-term horizon; at TEDxSummit, he shows how it helps guide today's choices and tomorrow's goals -- and encourages you to make your own 200-year plan too.

Maintaining a healthy weight takes more than diet and exercise, says physical activity epidemiologist Olivia Affuso. In this actionable talk, she shows how you can kickstart a healthy life by tapping into the collective power of a community that supports and motivates your health goals.