One Door, Two: What Special Forces Taught Me About Anger & Anxiety | Angus Fletcher | TEDxOxford

NOTE FROM TED: This talk contains a discussion of military operations. This only represents the speaker's personal views and understanding of psychological resilience and mental health. We've flagged this talk because it falls outside the content guidelines TED gives TEDx organizers. TEDx events are independently organized by volunteers. The guidelines we give TEDx organizers are described in more detail here: storage.ted.com/tedx/manuals/t...
Resilience. It's the key to bouncing back from challenges and to turning setbacks into personal growth. And it's a natural power of our brain. We're born to do it, without teaching or training. So, why are we suffering from a global loss of resilience, across age groups and demographics, continents and cultures? In this talk, Angus shares how his neuroscience research with Special Forces and Elementary Schools has uncovered a big mistake that most of us--whether we're children or CEOs--make about resilience, inhibiting our natural elasticity. And he explains how to recover our natural ability to bounce back through the simple parable of "One Door, Two." Angus Fletcher is Professor of Story Science at Ohio State’s Project Narrative. His research explores why children are more creative than computer AI-and how to use literature, art, and stories to increase innovation, resilience, and joy. His research partners include teams from US Special Operations, UPenn Wharton, Johns Hopkins School of Education, USC Neuroscience, and Ohio State Medical School. Hi work has been called "mind-blowing" by Malcolm Gladwell and "life-changing" by Brene Brown. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx

[@eugenec1733]

Fletcher is also the author of several excellent books.

[@0o0ification]

The premise presented reminds me of the scientific method, in that findings should undergo review and verification. However, in the absence of peer review (say, due to time constraints), one must attempt to review their own conclusions for weaknesses or alternative findings. Through the exercise of necessitating two plans of action, after identifying one plan of action first, it forces the individual or team into creative considerations of alternatives. It's almost like a stress test, although that terminology is a bit too on-the-nose given the anxiety title of the VOD; I think risk / opportunity management would be appropriate instead.