Transcript

BEYOND BRAINWASHERS: A PATH TO FREEDOM | LAKSHA S | TEDxYouth@KRMPublicSchool

Transcriber: Haifa AlRedwan
Reviewer: Manlin Fang Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, I'm sure most of you would
have experienced this. Every shopping trip with mom would turn
into a lecture. The red one will pick. Red does not suit you and you always
pick up on the same color. Go have a look at your wardrobe. You'll
see lots of red dresses piling up. Can't you try something new? And after
shopping meal would become a debate. You not having anything spicy in this heat
? It's not good for you though. These words are well intentioned. Felt
suffocating. the dictated my choices. Are you fed up with such hollow
winning words? Well, I am. Myself as Lakshya and eighth grader
from Kyabram Public School. I am here to present my talk on the title Beyond Brainwashes a
Path to Freedom. Brainwashes. Is it washing your brain with a soap?
Well, a bad joke. Humor does not suit me. Brainwashes. It is like taking
a shower. No water, no soap. But words brainwashes are verbal washes
that appear in the form of guidance, inspiration or motivation
and manipulation. They are either savage remarks that
deliberately exhibit their clothes of your choice, or polite requests seem to
be charming you, but may divert you. I define brainwashing as the most
dangerous method of influence. They are subtle, yet too powerful. But I
also think they might not be negative. Always. Don't you think so? Have you heard of a commoner
who became a king one day? Chandragupta maurya, the
first emperor of India. This commoner was made an emperor by the
interference of somebody in his life. Yes, him. I'll give you a clue. He's one of the familiar figure and
a great teacher in Indian history. Did you guess him? The
persuasive Chanakya. Chanakya saw some potential in the
young kid. He adopted him. His mentorship have guided him throughout
his journey of becoming an emperor. Chandragupta finally did it by creating
the great Mauryan Empire. Isn't it fascinating that influencers
can make people king? I think brainwashers can be expressed
as harsh remarks or polite requests. They may guide us or mislead us. So somebodies interference in our life
is either guidance or manipulation. How do we differentiate them?
Here out another story. Once a student asked this teacher if both
good and bad are created by the God, then why do I have to only follow the good
? The teacher did not reply. Instead, the next day he served
him two bowls for breakfast. When the boy opened both of them, he found
one had milk and the other one. Any guesses? It had Cowdung sounding.
Yuck, isn't it? The boy was shocked. He asked his teacher, why are you
asking me to consume cow dung? The teacher laughed and he told, if both milk and the dung
are produced by the cow, then why do you only consume
the milk and not the dung that is also produced by the cow
? The boy was stunned by his answer. He got a very clear explanation of how
to differentiate good and bad. Well, we also get to know something. Milk, which is fit to be consumed, is equal to the guidance which
is fit to be utilized. Whereas the cow dung which is not
fit to be consumed is equal to the manipulation which is
not fit to be utilized. I warn you, be aware of the brainwashes. Have you noticed how advertisements sneak
into your mind convincing you to buy the fancy toaster for survival? Can't
we toast the bread with a pan? Is it so essential for a toaster?
Brainwashes come into the scene. They whisper, get brainwashed. You'll
receive free gifts, coupons, and offers. We all love those and that is
their strategy, of course. Brainwashes works similarly
in our life too. The idea being influenced
is the advertisement and our weaknesses are their strategy. Growing up as an extrovert
has been a sponge, soaking up in influences from three
pivotal sources parents, school, and movies. Parents with their with
their well-meaning interference. My parents often sparked debates
in my career path. One side, my mother's disagreements on
the other, my father's suggestions. I am stuck in between. School teacher
was the first one to inspire my aim, but it was changed. My middle school's
career guidance classes felt complicated, but it was the one which motivated
me to explore out of the box. I was stuck with a boring stuff that I
heard and decided I would rather say. I took a shower in brainwashes
and decided it. Once my mindset was modified, I was blank. I didn't know how to proceed further,
but my teachers words were a boost. She told me lakesha listen. Whatever career choices you may
choose now will not last as you undergo different stages in your
life according to each stage of your life. Your mindset evolves
and I live this truth. Amidst these influences, movies stole my
heart. I am frankly, a movie addict. Lost in stories that transport
me into new worlds I connect. Imagine and inspire. This have
shaped my passions very well, unlocking my career possibilities. In fact, this has sparked a
passion in me for dance. In today's rapidly changing world, the external pressures on youth while
choosing a career resemble a comic tragedy. Imagine a teenager
happily dreaming of being an astronaut, only waiting to be guided
towards tax accounting, as who would love to spend their whole
life with stars instead of spreadsheets? Well, that was ironic. This brainwashing
can stifle true passions, transforming us into career chameleons. The fear of failure creates anxiety, like
a cat navigating in the bathtub, or a deer caught in the headlights. Yet some youths defy these norms,
emerging as creative rebels. We can foster an environment where
quirky passions are celebrated and even aspiring unicorn
tamers are encouraged. We can empower youth to pursue fulfilling
careers that truly resonate with who they are. I felt I didn't define my
passions so I was not able to set a satisfying goal. A magic
entered in my life. This magic could foster an environment
where aspiring unicorn tamers are encouraged and empower youth to
pursue a fulfilling career. While the turning point of my life
was the entry of my journal, journaling is a refuge from chaos that
takes me into the world of joy. This is the holder of my crazy creativity,
my joy, and my fear to. this private heaven secures my thought,
shielding me from the noise of the world. During adolescence, during adolescence, journaling becomes crucial as it
transforms chaos into clarity. I believe every individual,
especially teenagers, require the sacred space as their minds
are hybrid of maturity and childishness, which suffers whether to go by the
brainwashes or to analyze oneself. Journaling is a form of meditation where
mindfulness meets the messy handwriting. You know what? This form of meditation
is a big plus for people like me, who hate sitting in one place with
closed eyes and meditating as this form of meditation restricts an essential thing that we usually
follow in our normal meditation. Can you guess it? Well, it restricts
us to close our eyes. Imagine while you’re journaling, 
you close your eyes. wouldn’t your words start to float? Won't your letters be apart? Once upon
a time there was a brilliant mind. He had a secret tool that helped
him unlock his creativity, clarify his thoughts and
revolutionize physics. Well, his journals, he
wrote in them daily, either as fragmented sentences
or as equations. One day, while he was scribbling
in his journal, he stumbled upon a revolutionary idea. As he delved deeper into his journal,
he could solve many problems. He connected seemingly unrelated ideas.
He saw the universe in a new light. Then his famous theory of general
relativity was born. You got him for sure. The brilliant mind
is none other than our science genius, Albert Einstein. Einstein's journals were
his sanctuary where he could explore and innovate without fear. The story of Einstein's journals inspire
us to stick with our unique perspective by overcoming influences, embracing
the messiness of our creativity. I'm passionate on agriculture. My biology teacher once guided me
with this, but surprisingly, her guidance did not seem as a brainwash.
It had transformed into a support. Well, I'm truly devoted to my
journal for providing me an excellent interface which helped
me to define my passions, set a satisfying goal, and gather support. A blog. How to use journaling in goal
achievement from day one from the day one website was written
by Christine, right? And now to share a few statements
from this blog. Writing down goals is the key to success. Research has shown that writing down
goals or creating a plan for it, can increase the likelihood
of success by 42% . This blog also mentions a study
on 2007 by Doctor Gail Mathew, a psychology professor at Dominican
University of California, on the impact of commitment,
accountability, and written goals in goal achievement. This study found that those who write
down their goals can accomplish it significantly than those who do not write
their Goals. Now it's time for a secret. You won't believe me for sure. What if
I tell you that journaling is a war? Let me read the questions
you have in your mind. How come expressing ourselves become
a war? Whom do we war? What kind of war it is? Well, war is a simple strategy
of journaling. It's journaling is, of course, a war. It is a war between you
and your observations. It stands for write, analyze,
and revolutionize. It's kind of a secret debate
in a written form. War is a simple strategy of journaling,
which stands for write, analyze, and revolutionize. Write whatever bothers
you. Write whatever makes you happy. Write your interests and observations.
Analyse. Analyse the strengths and weaknesses, your likes and dislikes and analyse how
your views are different from others. Once you have written and analysed
what you have written, the last thing you have
to do is to change. Once we know what we think of us,
then we begin a revolution. Don't we love using fancy words, a good
handwriting and a good grammar? Well, it's of no use when
it comes to journaling. Journal isn't an official record. More
than personal, it's my soul mate. With every stroke of my pen, I
pour my heart onto the page. Well, if you look through my journals,
you will find a new font chicken scratch. It will be very
difficult for you to say whether my handwriting or the chicken
scribble is the worst. Did I speak a lot about writing? And did you come to an assumption that
journaling is all about writing? Well, it's a no for people
who hate writing and for students who already have class
works and homeworks to write, add up the assignments due. Definitely
won't prefer writing another stuff down. Come on, people who hate writing,
listen this up. You have creative alternatives to art
journals for the born artists. Art journals are creative spaces
that mix up art with writing. They invite individuals to explore their
inner world vibrantly and meaningfully. If you are a person neither interested
in art nor in writing, you have something more special. Video
journaling. a personal blog. It involves recording your self-talk.
You know what? It's more authentic as it
captures your emotion, blending storytelling with
visual expression in a way that written journals often cannot.
I've taken a survey among 54 teenagers. The first thing that I asked them was
whether they already possess a journal. Out of 54, 30 of them already does. For the rest, 24 assuming that they
might not be aware of journaling, I introduced the concept
of journaling to them. Out of 24, 13 of them are willing to
journal. In total, 43 out of 54. That is, 80% of my participants are.
On to journaling. The last thing that I asked them was which
form of journaling they prefer. 53.5% prefer a written form of journaling. 34.9% of them prefer art journaling, 11.6%
of them prefer video journaling. In a world overflowing with distractions,
the journey inward becomes essential. Continuous hours of working. Continuous
hours of studying. You ran into your home. Fall
on bed seeking some rest. Similarly, the external pressures creates
lots of stress and anxiety, and we run into journaling, seeking some peace and relief
from the stress and anxiety. Just as the digital world
can connect us globally, so too can it connect us with ourselves.
Did you get what I meant? I was referring to digital journaling. Digital journals are online platforms
which combines traditional journaling with modern technology. It prioritizes
privacy through password protections, provide new features like tagging and
instant search functionality. It can also provide you templates
for journaling. There are plenty of apps and you can
get any of it of your choice. Don't let the noise of others drown
out your own inner voice. As Steve Jobs wisely advised, the greatest
revolution begins within us. Will you join the movement? Will you embrace this transformative
tool to differentiate guidance and manipulation in funny
terms milk and dung. This is an invitation to embark on
a revolution. Start today. Write. Draw a record videos or do all of it
with the new app you are to install and connect with the most important person
in your life you. Happy journaling!