TED Talk

Why Did I Ski to the North Pole? – Ben Saunders

 

Rating: ****

 

There are those who enjoy outdoor adventures, and then there are those who enjoy extreme expeditions. Ben Saunders is one such individual who skied not only to the North Pole (as we hear in this video), but since has also skied to the South Pole and back. In this TED talk, we get to know this daring character a bit more.

Saunders had planned to do the North Pole expedition once before. Unfortunately, he and his partner did not succeed their first attempt to reach the North Pole. He describes the feeling of utter disappointment and failure to amount to anything after being picked up when dangerous conditions set in. After a few years of doing nothing and feeling badly about it, he decided to plan a second expedition; this time from Russia, through the North Pole to Canada, and this time alone. He successfully did so, and returned with a sense of pride and exhilaration from his expedition. The last thing he shows in the video is a report card from when he was thirteen years old, where the teacher wrote that he “lacked sufficient impetus (motivation) to achieve anything worthwhile.”

            While this TED Talk is based on an expedition of physical trial, what stuck with me the most was the mental trial that Saunders went through; a mental trial that many children are going through now. How could a boy of such apparent lack of self-motivation achieve such great heights? What does this mean for our society? I think Saunders himself challenges the very basis of our judgment of worth. You could see it two ways, either Saunders changed his attitude from the time he was young, or; he simply had the drive the whole time, yet it was failed to be perceived. I find this fascinating. Who defines our self-worth? Society plays a huge role in this – we are from a young age taught that what others think of us is pivotal in the part we will play in our world, and “how far we will go in life”. Ben Saunders carried that lesson with him so that he could shatter the fact that this is accepted, and encourages us to challenge that belief as well. I learned that you should never underrate someone, or negate the fact that their potential is just as desirable as the next person’s. You need to believe in your own abilities attain your goals. “No one else is the authority on your potential.” (Saunders, 2005.)

            To sum it up, I think that attitude plays a huge role in our Outdoor Education classes. You can choose who you want to be, and even if others don’t recognize your potential it right away, you are the one who knows how well you can do, and also the one who decides how well you will do. Why did he ski to the North Pole? Because he could.

 

Saunders, Ben. 'Why Did I Ski To The North Pole?'. 2005. Presentation.

TED Talks: Never, ever give up

Diana Nyad Swims from Cuba to Florida
Rating: ****

The TED Talks I watched was such an inspiring video. Diana Nyad had a dream that she just couldn’t give up on: she wanted to swim the 110-mile ocean crossing between Cuba and Florida.

She had tried this once before in her 20’s but got defeated by severe jellyfish attacks. Nearly 40 years later, at age 60, with tremendous amount of work and preparation, she accomplished her goal. And she had a few things to say about it. One being that you are never too old to achieve your goal and that you shouldn’t listen to what other people have to say about it. So many people told her that her goal was impossible and that she couldn’t do it. But she didn’t listen to them. She lived by Teddy Roosevelt’s quote “You go ahead. You go ahead and sit back in your comfortable chair and you be the critic, you be the observer while the brave one gets in the ring and engages and gets bloody and gets dirty and fails over and over and over again but yet isn’t afraid, and isn’t timid, and loves life in a bold way.”

Diana was a hard worker and was won a number or world records for swimming; she is a member of the National Women’s Hall of Fame and the International Swimming Hall of Fame. In the video, she talks about how everything went down and what she’s most proud of, acknowledging her strong team and friends that helped her. She talks about how she wasn’t allowed to touch the boat and how at night it was so dark she couldn’t even see her hand in front of her. The only way her team on the boat knew she was there was by the sound of her hands hitting the water. When she was hallucinating and swallowing so much salt water, she was just about to give up, but her friend Bonnie told her there wasn’t much to go. She was 15 hours away from finishing her epic journey, which to a lot of swimmers is a lot, but she had done so many 15 hour practices in training. When she finished, she said that what she was most proud of was that she was bold and fearless.

I learned a lot by watching this TED Talks video. It’s so important that if you have a goal you shouldn’t let anyone stand in your way or bring you down. It was a very motivating speech and it shows that if you’re determined you can do anything. I really enjoyed this video and the life lessons Diana shared. 

Nyad, Diana. "Never, ever give up." Video on ted.com. Posted December 2013

http://www.ted.com/talks/diana_nyad_never_ever_give_up.html

Ben Saunders: Why bother leaving the house? - Ally Baker

rating: *****/*****

      As generations change and life moves on times are changing. There was a point in time where the only way to play hockey would be to go outside and physically play and as technology advances you can simply turn on the Xbox and play while sitting on the couch. If you want to figure out how old the Statue of Liberty is you can figure out the answer without even standing up. Although this is what seems normal to us now a days, does life have to be this way?

     Ben Saunders who has the job title of Polar Explorer discusses the statement of why bother leaving the house. Saunders speaks of his adventures "I [am] the only one to see it, I was the only human being in 5.4 million square miles. That makes me want to leave my house." Saunders believes that as the generations are moving forward humanity is moving backward. "We don't enjoy life so that we can eat and make money, we make money and eat so that we can enjoy our lives" This quote by Saunders explains his vision of the world. If all humanity is doing is eating and making money what kind of a life is that? Its the experiences that we have in life that create memories and stories.

    This TED talks video effected me very much so. All of the things that Ben Saunders was saying were true. When I am curious about something I just simply pull out my phone or lap top and search is up but its strange to think that at some point not too far back I would have to physically find out that information for my self. Saunders inspired me by allowing me to realize that just because technology advances it doesn't mean that humanity has to become potatoes. Ben Saunders is an inspiration to me.

"Ben Saunders: Why bother leaving the house?" Youtube.  Web. 14 December 2012.