transcript/TED_I5x1wQ6kHX0.txt

[0.000 --> 18.300]  Sometimes, I'm not sure that I'm capable of doing something until I'm already doing it.
[18.300 --> 21.900]  We all have examples of that within our own lives.
[21.900 --> 28.880]  Things like asing that test, earning that promotion, or the one that truly terrifies and
[28.880 --> 35.980]  strikes fear into the heart of all of us adults, getting virtually anything done at the DMV.
[35.980 --> 38.480]  Oh gosh.
[38.480 --> 44.580]  But in all seriousness, at times these things can feel unattainable to us.
[44.580 --> 46.880]  But maybe they shouldn't.
[46.880 --> 49.940]  My name is Paniz Oliye.
[49.940 --> 56.080]  And I'm here today to demonstrate to you why you're capable of more than you think.
[56.080 --> 57.580]  Now I know what you're thinking.
[57.580 --> 58.580]  Oh great.
[58.580 --> 67.080]  Another one of those motivational speeches that sounds so nice, but ultimately does nothing.
[67.080 --> 73.840]  But like you, I understand how difficult it is to summon the courage we need to achieve
[73.840 --> 75.720]  our dreams.
[75.720 --> 81.520]  And so today, I'm going to do something just a little different.
[81.520 --> 88.720]  Today, as a longtime student of psychology, I'm going to offer you a tool.
[88.720 --> 93.440]  We call this conceptual tool mind over matter.
[93.440 --> 99.480]  And I'm going to use it today to help you harness your very own power.
[99.480 --> 105.560]  Now we'll be starting off with a couple of examples from that beautiful science of the mind
[105.560 --> 107.520]  that we call psychology.
[107.520 --> 112.120]  Next, I'll take you through the findings of those examples.
[112.120 --> 117.520]  Why does it matter that there's a connection between our minds and our bodies?
[117.520 --> 124.200]  What does the connection of mind over matter mean about ourselves, about each other, and
[124.200 --> 127.240]  about the world around us?
[127.240 --> 133.480]  And finally, I'll tell you about how you can apply the concept of mind over matter to
[133.480 --> 137.480]  your lives and the lives of those around you.
[137.480 --> 141.240]  The first thing I need you to remember, and this is really important, don't let it go,
[141.240 --> 146.880]  is that mind over matter is absolutely everywhere.
[146.880 --> 152.160]  It is in our daily lives, in the air that we breathe and the light that we see.
[152.160 --> 153.160]  Don't believe me?
[153.160 --> 155.720]  Let's give it a shot.
[155.720 --> 162.040]  So on the screen before you, you'll see what's an illustration of the basal effect, first
[162.040 --> 164.720]  coined by Wilhelm von Baseld.
[164.720 --> 166.760]  It's a pretty simple picture, isn't it?
[166.760 --> 169.720]  You have two main objects on the screen.
[169.720 --> 175.600]  One is a background, and as you can see, it is much darker on one side, my right, than
[175.600 --> 177.760]  it is on the left.
[177.760 --> 180.960]  It's a gradient, easy peasy.
[180.960 --> 189.280]  In the middle of this background is a rectangular bar, and that rectangular bar also looks like
[189.280 --> 190.800]  a gradient.
[190.800 --> 195.400]  It is much lighter on my right side than it is on my left.
[195.400 --> 197.880]  It's an inverse of the background.
[197.880 --> 201.040]  Now I know you're seeing the same thing that I'm seeing.
[201.040 --> 203.400]  You're asking yourselves why is she explaining this?
[203.400 --> 206.880]  I can see very clearly what's going on.
[206.880 --> 213.520]  But if you'll just give me a moment, I want you to look very closely at what happens next,
[213.520 --> 220.960]  because when I remove the background, you'll see that this rectangular bar in the middle
[220.960 --> 224.920]  is actually one solid color.
[224.920 --> 226.680]  It's not a gradient at all.
[226.680 --> 229.560]  It is a solid shade of gray.
[229.560 --> 232.440]  Let's try that again.
[232.440 --> 238.240]  Now you see it, the gradient, and now you don't.
[238.240 --> 242.080]  All right, let's try something else out.
[242.080 --> 247.880]  This is another one that is very, very popular in terms of its fun cognitive illusion test.
[247.880 --> 253.840]  This is an illustration of the Czechosato illusion coined by Edward Adelson.
[253.840 --> 256.400]  This is also a fairly simple picture.
[256.400 --> 261.400]  As you can see, there are two squares marked on this checkerboard.
[261.400 --> 266.680]  One is marked with the letter A, and the other one is letter B.
[266.680 --> 273.400]  A, as you can see, just as plainly as I can, is much darker than B.
[273.400 --> 276.640]  You can probably guess what I'm going to do next.
[276.640 --> 283.800]  If I just remove everything else, you'll see that A and B are the exact same color.
[284.800 --> 289.760]  To try that again, A and B clearly two different shades,
[289.760 --> 293.800]  and all I've done is remove the background.
[293.800 --> 298.240]  Now, if your head is spinning and you're upset at me removing the background,
[298.240 --> 302.040]  I promise for this next one, I'll make it a little easier on you.
[302.040 --> 305.720]  For this next one, I'm not going to be changing anything at all.
[305.720 --> 307.800]  I'm not removing any context.
[307.800 --> 311.040]  You'll have the slide in front of you as long as you like.
[311.760 --> 316.040]  This next one is a particularly big favorite of mine.
[316.040 --> 319.680]  This is an illustration of the Cafe Wall illusion.
[319.680 --> 324.400]  Talked about because it was first seen on the outside of a Cafe Wall.
[324.400 --> 326.120]  Simple picture, right?
[326.120 --> 329.800]  You have a couple of black and white squares alternating,
[329.800 --> 332.000]  and you have different rows of this pattern.
[332.000 --> 334.120]  Slightly offset.
[334.120 --> 340.240]  The offset, I'll give you a hint, is what makes this illusion so much fun.
[340.240 --> 344.160]  As you can see, there's something just slightly off about this picture.
[344.160 --> 349.240]  All of the horizontal gray lines running through this picture are slanted.
[349.240 --> 350.920]  They're kind of wonky.
[350.920 --> 354.560]  They look like they're on the verge of running into each other.
[354.560 --> 358.480]  But if you look at each individual row,
[358.480 --> 364.760]  you'll notice that all of these gray horizontal lines are perfectly parallel.
[364.760 --> 367.840]  There's no slant to them at all.
[367.840 --> 372.240]  Zoom out for a moment, see the slants, and zoom in for a moment.
[372.240 --> 377.680]  Focus on one individual row at a time, and you'll see what I mean.
[377.680 --> 380.080]  What do all of these examples mean?
[380.080 --> 384.240]  Have I just brought you here today to show you how evil psychology is?
[384.240 --> 389.000]  To make you wonder why I'm making you question your perception of reality?
[389.000 --> 393.880]  I promise there is no evilness of psychology involved.
[393.880 --> 398.440]  In fact, as such a beautiful discipline, psychology exists to show us
[398.440 --> 401.520]  why we have these cognitive illusions.
[401.520 --> 404.320]  I promise this is no magic trick.
[404.320 --> 407.640]  I haven't secretly changed the lines while you weren't watching,
[407.640 --> 412.320]  and I certainly haven't changed any of the colors in the solution.
[412.320 --> 418.080]  All I've done is show you how your own eyes perceive the world.
[418.080 --> 420.880]  Why would our brains do this to us?
[420.880 --> 424.680]  Is there something wrong with the way that we're seeing the world?
[424.680 --> 426.240]  Not at all.
[426.240 --> 431.760]  You see, a long time ago, it was vital to our very survival to be able to distinguish
[431.760 --> 434.800]  between one object and another.
[434.800 --> 440.120]  All of these tricks rely on the way that we perceive darkness and brightness,
[440.120 --> 445.800]  light, shadows, and of course, contrasts.
[445.800 --> 450.440]  Our brains rely on that because they help us to see and understand the world
[450.480 --> 452.040]  more quickly.
[452.040 --> 456.360]  And as you can probably imagine, the faster you can distinguish between one object
[456.360 --> 460.680]  and another, the likelier you are to survive.
[460.680 --> 465.880]  The faster you can figure out what is a threat to you and what is harmless,
[465.880 --> 471.160]  the likelier you are to get out of that dangerous situation.
[471.160 --> 475.880]  And so our brains have evolved this miraculous and incredible ability
[475.880 --> 480.400]  to quickly distinguish between objects, just to help us.
[480.880 --> 484.600]  Now, what you've seen today are a couple of perceptual illusions,
[484.600 --> 487.120]  but I'm going to take it a little step further.
[487.120 --> 490.800]  I'm going to talk to you about something that might seem fairly familiar,
[490.800 --> 492.520]  placebo's.
[492.520 --> 496.000]  Now, you've seen some perceptual illusions you know so far
[496.000 --> 500.160]  that your mind informs your reality, the way that you see things.
[500.160 --> 506.200]  But placebo's are a fun little example of how your mind can change reality.
[506.240 --> 510.720]  For those of you who don't know, a placebo is a very simple concept.
[510.720 --> 515.200]  It is a treatment that actually has no medicinal or therapeutic value.
[515.200 --> 519.360]  In essence, it does nothing to your body.
[519.360 --> 521.920]  Few examples of this are some fake pills.
[521.920 --> 527.240]  They're often made out of sugar, fake injections, things like saline.
[527.240 --> 530.960]  And they even have fake surgeries where they put you under,
[530.960 --> 534.120]  but they do basically nothing to you.
[534.160 --> 536.160]  I do these treatments exist.
[536.160 --> 540.400]  Well, there's this very fun phenomenon called the placebo effect,
[540.400 --> 541.760]  pretty fitting name, huh?
[541.760 --> 543.800]  Psychology is good at those.
[543.800 --> 547.160]  But the thing about the placebo effect is this.
[547.160 --> 551.960]  If I have a raging headache and I'm in a lot of pain,
[551.960 --> 558.080]  and someone gives me a pill telling me that this is going to relieve some of my pain,
[558.080 --> 562.200]  I will take that pill with that expectation.
[562.200 --> 566.280]  And lo and behold, even if that pill is made of sugar,
[566.280 --> 570.600]  it will actually reduce some of the pain that I'm feeling.
[570.600 --> 575.880]  Remember, there's no medicinal or therapeutic intervention in this case.
[575.880 --> 581.560]  All that's happening is that my expectations are changing my reality.
[581.560 --> 587.920]  Quite literally, what happens when I take that pill is that I expect to feel better.
[587.960 --> 590.120]  And so what does my body do?
[590.120 --> 594.880]  It tries to match that expectation in my mind.
[594.880 --> 597.960]  My brain releases things like dopamine,
[597.960 --> 600.400]  a chemical that will help it to feel good.
[600.400 --> 603.280]  My body releases things like endorphins,
[603.280 --> 608.040]  a hormone that reduces stress and relieves pain.
[608.040 --> 611.600]  And before you know it, just like that,
[611.600 --> 616.200]  I'm already feeling so much more healthy and optimistic.
[616.240 --> 622.160]  And in case you forgot, there was no medicinal or therapeutic intervention involved.
[622.160 --> 626.800]  All that happened was that I had a belief.
[626.800 --> 628.880]  That's all.
[628.880 --> 630.760]  I know, at this point, you're thinking, okay,
[630.760 --> 633.920]  placebo is cognitive illusions, I've heard of it all.
[633.920 --> 639.160]  But I'm going to give you one last psychological example that you might not have heard of.
[639.160 --> 642.360]  And this is the example of biofeedback.
[642.360 --> 649.440]  Now biofeedback is this incredible intervention that psychology and medicine have constructed.
[649.440 --> 653.200]  Let's say that we have a patient, maybe someone in this room,
[653.200 --> 656.480]  who is experiencing a high heart rate.
[656.480 --> 660.480]  Their heart is going far too fast.
[660.480 --> 662.160]  That's dangerous.
[662.160 --> 665.560]  They want to lower that heart rate as much as possible.
[665.560 --> 670.440]  And they want to have it be an effective and quick treatment.
[670.440 --> 676.520]  The healthcare provider, in this case, can attach a couple of sensors and electrodes to the patient
[676.520 --> 680.200]  and hook those sensors and electrodes up to a device.
[680.200 --> 685.400]  The device will emit noises or lights or show a number on the screen
[685.400 --> 688.720]  that corresponds to the person's actual heart rate.
[688.720 --> 693.040]  So all this person is getting is some feedback about how their heart is doing.
[693.040 --> 699.800]  I actually did this exercise right before my speech with an individual who is also a speaker today.
[699.800 --> 703.320]  Because people get anxious, even the best of us.
[703.320 --> 706.680]  And we need something to calm us down.
[706.680 --> 709.720]  I'll tell you a little bit more about that in just a second.
[709.720 --> 714.760]  But what happens next is something that the machine does not control at all.
[714.760 --> 718.600]  The patient is fully in control of their heart rate.
[718.600 --> 721.960]  They watch the screen, the numbers, the flashing lights,
[721.960 --> 725.560]  or they listen to the noise, the sound of their heart rate.
[725.560 --> 731.800]  And just by watching or listening and concentrating, they lower it.
[731.800 --> 733.080]  And it works.
[733.080 --> 738.120]  There is nothing that the machine is doing, but just giving them feedback about their heart rate.
[738.120 --> 742.880]  Without even knowing it, the patient listening to their real-time feedback
[742.880 --> 745.360]  starts to relax their muscles.
[745.360 --> 748.280]  They start to control their breathing.
[748.280 --> 753.680]  And moreover, sometimes they even think positive or grounding thoughts.
[753.680 --> 758.640]  Again, in case you missed it, the machine has done absolutely nothing.
[758.640 --> 761.880]  But the patient's heart rate is lowered.
[761.880 --> 764.480]  The implications for this are astounding.
[764.480 --> 769.280]  Biofeedback can apply to lowering your temperature or raising it, if you like.
[769.280 --> 772.320]  It also applies to your blood pressure,
[772.320 --> 774.880]  to headaches and migraines that you might have,
[774.880 --> 778.360]  and even to your brain activity.
[778.360 --> 783.400]  Just by concentrating on the real-time feedback that your body is sending out,
[783.400 --> 787.000]  you can actually change your physical health.
[787.000 --> 791.840]  Again, your body starts to match your expectations.
[791.840 --> 796.400]  If that's not an example of mine never matter, I'm not sure what else is.
[796.400 --> 801.560]  Because the truth is, all of these examples show how powerful your mind is
[801.560 --> 805.120]  at controlling you and your reality.
[805.120 --> 808.320]  It doesn't just change how you see the world.
[808.320 --> 812.520]  It changes the physiological reality of your body.
[812.520 --> 813.920]  That is incredible.
[813.920 --> 817.600]  When someone tells you don't worry about it, it's all in your head.
[817.600 --> 820.120]  Just relax, chill out.
[820.120 --> 823.680]  That phrase now has so much more meaning.
[823.680 --> 825.680]  It is all in your head.
[825.680 --> 830.320]  And that's the beauty of the concept of mind over matter.
[830.320 --> 835.000]  This puts the power back in the hands of the individual.
[835.000 --> 840.360]  But I know at the same time that you're wondering why this matters.
[840.360 --> 842.080]  You're asking yourself,
[842.120 --> 846.360]  why does it matter that I have a little bit of control over my head
[846.360 --> 849.600]  or over my body for that matter?
[849.600 --> 853.960]  Why does it matter when there are so many more serious issues in the world
[853.960 --> 856.600]  that we find hard to address?
[856.600 --> 861.360]  In this life, we are in control of so little.
[861.360 --> 864.880]  At times, I despair about the things that I cannot control.
[864.880 --> 868.760]  I think about things like international politics,
[868.760 --> 873.720]  like violence, inequality, just to name a few.
[873.720 --> 876.120]  And when I start thinking about those things,
[876.120 --> 879.800]  even things like climate change, it is easy to lose hope.
[882.320 --> 886.720]  But the question of why does it matter
[886.720 --> 890.680]  can be answered basically within the very foundations
[890.680 --> 892.320]  that we've just talked about.
[893.320 --> 897.960]  It matters because I am one of the few things
[897.960 --> 901.280]  that I control in this life.
[901.280 --> 903.880]  And that applies to all of you.
[903.880 --> 906.320]  We might not be able to control much,
[906.320 --> 908.720]  but if we control ourselves,
[908.720 --> 911.120]  we control our perspectives, our expectations,
[911.120 --> 915.320]  and the way that we interact with other people,
[915.320 --> 920.760]  then we control much more than we previously thought we were ever capable of.
[921.760 --> 926.440]  Now at times, again, you might be wondering how this comes into play.
[926.440 --> 929.840]  For me, just thinking about the concept of mind of a matter
[929.840 --> 932.960]  has made it much easier to manage my life.
[932.960 --> 936.680]  And now I know a bunch of you sitting out there, students and professionals
[936.680 --> 943.640]  have probably experienced the horrible, anxiety-inducing, debilitating, terrifying problem.
[943.640 --> 946.080]  That is procrastination.
[946.080 --> 948.560]  It's exhausting, and you have to admit it.
[948.560 --> 952.560]  I see a deadline that's a month away, and I'm like, oh, great.
[952.560 --> 953.840]  That's a month away.
[953.840 --> 956.000]  It's like plenty of time.
[956.000 --> 959.280]  The problem with that is that I relax,
[959.280 --> 961.680]  kick back for an entire month,
[961.680 --> 964.000]  and the night before something is due.
[964.000 --> 965.160]  I panic.
[965.160 --> 965.960]  I stress out.
[965.960 --> 971.120]  I start to cram and type out as much of that paper as I possibly can.
[971.120 --> 972.640]  It's unhealthy.
[972.640 --> 977.040]  And for a lot of us, in both of our academic and professional lives,
[977.040 --> 979.800]  it is a debilitating issue.
[979.800 --> 984.880]  But once I realized that mind over matter is a powerful enough concept
[984.880 --> 987.560]  to change the way we see things.
[987.560 --> 990.720]  I realized that it's all in my head.
[990.720 --> 994.320]  So all I really need to do to fix procrastination
[994.320 --> 998.360]  is to just change my perception of reality.
[998.360 --> 999.160]  Easy, right?
[999.160 --> 1001.320]  Piece of cake.
[1001.320 --> 1004.520]  But the truth is, it does become easier
[1004.520 --> 1007.880]  when you think about the very power that you hold.
[1007.880 --> 1010.240]  What happens when you think about mind over matter
[1010.240 --> 1012.400]  is that you realize that you have power
[1012.400 --> 1015.840]  over your entire view of reality.
[1015.840 --> 1017.640]  And I use that to my advantage.
[1017.640 --> 1019.440]  And I hope you can too.
[1019.440 --> 1023.080]  What I did was set a couple of false deadlines.
[1023.080 --> 1024.720]  Sounds simple, right?
[1024.720 --> 1026.680]  That thing that was due a month from now
[1026.680 --> 1028.680]  is now due in a week.
[1028.680 --> 1033.840]  And man, if I can convince myself that that item is due so much earlier
[1033.840 --> 1039.160]  than I thought it was, then I will feel the pressure to complete it.
[1039.160 --> 1041.640]  I started making myself believe these false deadlines
[1041.640 --> 1047.760]  by plugging it into everything I came across, planners, calendars,
[1047.760 --> 1050.280]  and even sticky notes.
[1050.280 --> 1054.960]  And once I convinced myself that something was due much earlier
[1054.960 --> 1060.360]  than it really was, I got started a little earlier.
[1060.360 --> 1064.720]  I saw that I was able to complete the things that I wanted to on time.
[1064.720 --> 1067.120]  Was I still a little stressed out?
[1067.120 --> 1068.240]  Maybe.
[1068.240 --> 1071.080]  Did I still rush to finish within that week?
[1071.080 --> 1072.560]  Sure.
[1072.560 --> 1076.120]  But it changed my life to such an extent
[1076.120 --> 1080.280]  that I can say that I'm a much less stressed out person now.
[1080.280 --> 1083.560]  I can focus on the beauties of life and enjoy the time
[1083.560 --> 1088.600]  that I have with friends and family and even just myself,
[1088.600 --> 1091.080]  all because of a minor change that I made
[1091.080 --> 1096.000]  while recognizing how powerful the concept of mind over matter is.
[1096.000 --> 1099.280]  Another way that the concept has helped me
[1099.280 --> 1102.800]  is by helping me look at the bigger picture.
[1102.800 --> 1104.000]  We all have this problem.
[1104.000 --> 1107.640]  Psychologists will often refer to it as catastrophization.
[1107.640 --> 1109.400]  Now, catastrophization is something
[1109.400 --> 1112.480]  that I think many of you will be familiar with.
[1112.480 --> 1116.480]  This notion that the moment something small goes wrong,
[1116.480 --> 1119.840]  you get a grade that you don't like on an exam,
[1119.840 --> 1124.480]  you miss out on an opportunity, or even you lose something
[1124.480 --> 1127.520]  that is a treasured object.
[1127.520 --> 1131.640]  You start thinking about the worst case scenario.
[1131.640 --> 1134.400]  Your mind starts going down the spiral of anxiety
[1134.400 --> 1137.640]  and all you can think about is the horrible thing
[1137.640 --> 1139.480]  that could happen in the future.
[1139.480 --> 1142.720]  You think about the absolute worst that can happen.
[1142.720 --> 1145.480]  And it's agonizing.
[1145.480 --> 1149.320]  What hurts us even more is that the worst case scenario
[1149.320 --> 1151.480]  often doesn't happen.
[1151.480 --> 1156.720]  And so we waste time and energy and emotional burden,
[1156.720 --> 1159.240]  just dedicating ourselves to thinking about the worst case
[1159.240 --> 1163.560]  scenario that is hardly likely.
[1163.560 --> 1167.280]  Catastrophization is a problem for many of us.
[1167.280 --> 1169.680]  But the way that we can reframe our reality
[1169.680 --> 1172.400]  comes into play even here.
[1172.400 --> 1175.200]  The question that I constantly ask myself
[1175.200 --> 1178.120]  when something doesn't quite go right
[1178.120 --> 1182.480]  is how much is this going to matter?
[1182.480 --> 1185.280]  I start to stretch time in my mind.
[1185.280 --> 1188.160]  How much is this going to matter a year from now?
[1188.160 --> 1189.320]  Maybe a bit.
[1189.320 --> 1191.440]  Maybe I'll be walking around and thinking about,
[1191.440 --> 1194.080]  oh, I really wish I had not missed that opportunity.
[1194.080 --> 1196.160]  That would have been nice.
[1196.160 --> 1198.320]  Five years from now?
[1198.320 --> 1200.280]  Well, I don't know.
[1200.280 --> 1202.240]  I'll be starting on my career.
[1202.240 --> 1203.920]  I'll probably be thinking about, I don't know,
[1203.920 --> 1206.200]  what I'll be having for dinner.
[1206.200 --> 1208.880]  And a million other things will be on my mind.
[1208.880 --> 1212.440]  I'm not sure how much I'm thinking about it.
[1212.440 --> 1215.160]  Stretch that out even further.
[1215.160 --> 1219.360]  10 years from now, 20 years from now,
[1219.360 --> 1225.200]  and the incident that you are so stressed out about dissipates.
[1225.200 --> 1228.600]  It becomes sand like the sands of time.
[1228.600 --> 1231.880]  There are so many grains of it, so many moments in our lives
[1231.880 --> 1236.000]  that we can stress out about, but don't need to.
[1236.000 --> 1239.320]  And when we stop agonizing and catastrophizing,
[1239.320 --> 1240.960]  we become healthier.
[1240.960 --> 1243.960]  The research has demonstrated that we live longer lives,
[1243.960 --> 1246.080]  quite frankly.
[1246.080 --> 1249.320]  And the theme that I'm going to keep coming back to
[1249.320 --> 1252.600]  is that we enjoy our lives more.
[1252.600 --> 1257.280]  Enjoying our lives more makes us better people, better friends,
[1257.280 --> 1259.720]  and better community members.
[1259.720 --> 1263.200]  And so already, from such a small, quick question
[1263.200 --> 1265.560]  that you can ask yourself, you have
[1265.560 --> 1269.240]  contributed to making the world a better place.
[1269.240 --> 1272.520]  I know that's dramatic, but bear with me for this last one.
[1272.520 --> 1275.800]  The last major tip that I wanted to share with you all today
[1275.800 --> 1279.800]  was the concept of connecting the disconnection.
[1279.800 --> 1282.120]  Just like those connect the dot games
[1282.120 --> 1285.440]  where you produce a beautiful, fuller picture,
[1285.440 --> 1287.800]  I've come to realize how important it is
[1287.800 --> 1291.200]  to connect the parts of my life that previously
[1291.200 --> 1293.680]  meant nothing to each other.
[1293.680 --> 1297.560]  The many students, academics, and professionals in this room
[1297.560 --> 1299.480]  can all attest to this.
[1299.480 --> 1304.160]  We think of different disciplines as distinct.
[1304.160 --> 1308.960]  Things like law and medicine, math and philosophy,
[1308.960 --> 1312.000]  all of those things feel like separate categories
[1312.000 --> 1313.920]  to many of us.
[1313.920 --> 1318.080]  And even if we work in a field where we combine those,
[1318.080 --> 1323.240]  the common themes that they share aren't always on our minds.
[1323.240 --> 1327.160]  But take it for me, a student of psychology, history,
[1327.160 --> 1329.280]  and political science.
[1329.280 --> 1331.400]  These subjects all have more in common
[1331.400 --> 1333.760]  than you could possibly think.
[1333.760 --> 1336.840]  For me, thinking about the different themes
[1336.840 --> 1339.400]  that these topics share has made me
[1339.400 --> 1343.320]  realize that at the core of all of these disciplines
[1343.320 --> 1345.520]  are people.
[1345.520 --> 1347.600]  I love people.
[1347.600 --> 1350.800]  And just by connecting the dots, by thinking
[1350.800 --> 1354.000]  about what psychology, history, and political science
[1354.000 --> 1358.800]  all tell us about people, even if they disagree.
[1358.800 --> 1363.840]  Just by doing that, I have made myself someone who can hopefully
[1363.840 --> 1369.360]  better understand, relate, and spend time with people.
[1369.360 --> 1372.800]  The thing that matters to me most in life.
[1372.800 --> 1378.440]  And so just by doing that, I'm able to create this new common thread
[1378.440 --> 1380.840]  that had never existed before.
[1380.840 --> 1385.600]  We call that synergy when two separate concepts come together,
[1385.600 --> 1390.200]  and there's some is so much more, so much more profound
[1390.200 --> 1392.960]  than it could have been separately.
[1392.960 --> 1396.640]  So by connecting these dots, as disconnected as they seem,
[1396.640 --> 1399.280]  we all have something to gain.
[1399.280 --> 1403.640]  For me, that meant passing on a piece of advice to my sister.
[1403.640 --> 1407.360]  My sister is my favorite person in the entire universe,
[1407.360 --> 1410.040]  the light of my life.
[1410.040 --> 1412.600]  And I hope, growing up as her older sister,
[1412.600 --> 1415.720]  I've been able to use this ability to connect the dots
[1415.720 --> 1418.880]  to teach her more about people.
[1418.880 --> 1422.600]  Today, she is one of the most wise, well-informed people
[1422.600 --> 1424.040]  I have ever met.
[1424.040 --> 1427.840]  And her relationships demonstrate that to me.
[1427.840 --> 1431.800]  As we know, that trickle down or ripple effect
[1431.800 --> 1434.080]  is quite the real one.
[1434.080 --> 1439.240]  She constantly instills that same value amongst the people
[1439.240 --> 1441.200]  that she meets.
[1441.200 --> 1443.480]  And it helps to create a better community
[1443.480 --> 1446.000]  at her school, in her neighborhood,
[1446.000 --> 1449.200]  and in her work going forward as a nurse.
[1449.200 --> 1453.320]  Long story short, this small connection of the dots
[1453.320 --> 1455.920]  that I realized passed on to my sister
[1455.920 --> 1459.760]  and that she'll pass on to her friends, community members,
[1459.760 --> 1462.800]  and her patients, that makes a difference.
[1465.040 --> 1468.160]  But all of these three tips that I've shared with you today
[1468.160 --> 1471.800]  are just a few examples of how you can use the concept
[1471.800 --> 1475.200]  of mind over matter.
[1475.200 --> 1479.160]  There are so many different ways to imagine that concept.
[1479.160 --> 1482.720]  And I cannot wait to see what all of you come up with.
[1482.720 --> 1485.560]  All of your brilliant, diverse experiences
[1485.560 --> 1489.280]  culminating in this web of knowledge.
[1489.280 --> 1493.640]  So ultimately, what does mind over matter mean?
[1493.720 --> 1497.440]  It means recognizing that sometimes the boundaries
[1497.440 --> 1500.920]  between the body and the mind are blurred
[1500.920 --> 1503.840]  and that that is a beautiful thing.
[1503.840 --> 1508.200]  It means recognizing that the way that you perceive the world,
[1508.200 --> 1513.200]  even just your expectations, they make a difference.
[1513.200 --> 1518.120]  And it means that we are not static, unchanging people
[1518.120 --> 1520.240]  with limited abilities.
[1520.240 --> 1525.440]  We are profoundly complex, liminal, transient people
[1525.440 --> 1529.120]  who move between our capabilities, our complexities,
[1529.120 --> 1531.640]  and our potentials.
[1531.640 --> 1534.760]  There are limitless possibilities before us.
[1534.760 --> 1538.720]  Because if your expectations inform your reality,
[1538.720 --> 1542.360]  then the only limit is your imagination.
[1542.360 --> 1548.480]  You and I and everyone is capable of so much more
[1548.480 --> 1552.160]  than you know than you have ever thought.
[1552.160 --> 1555.520]  And perhaps more than you will ever know.
[1555.520 --> 1559.240]  You are capable of immense growth and complexity.
[1559.240 --> 1563.840]  And that is what the concept of mind over matter teaches us.
[1563.840 --> 1567.480]  In the depths of the terrifying and enormous problems
[1567.480 --> 1571.240]  that we see in our daily lives, inequality, violence,
[1571.240 --> 1573.760]  climate change, you name it.
[1573.760 --> 1581.360]  It is easy to feel alone, to feel isolated, to feel helpless.
[1581.360 --> 1584.240]  But the fact that you have control over yourselves,
[1584.240 --> 1588.080]  your lived realities, and that you can influence others
[1588.080 --> 1591.080]  gives you so much more power and agency
[1591.080 --> 1592.320]  than you ever thought possible.
[1595.320 --> 1600.360]  To all those out there wishing to make a change in your life
[1600.360 --> 1603.720]  and the lives of others, you are capable.
[1604.560 --> 1607.280]  Of so much more than you think.
[1607.280 --> 1609.240]  And the science?
[1609.240 --> 1611.040]  The science proves it.
[1611.040 --> 1612.240]  Thank you.