It’s not enough to do important work — we need to know it truly matters, says journalist Jennifer Wallace. Drawing on her research into firefighters, caregivers and more, she shows how simple acts of acknowledgment and connection can fuel our sense of purpose in a world that too often undervalues recognition.For a chance to give your own TED Talk, fill out the Idea Search Application: ted.com/ideasearch.Interested in learning more about upcoming TED events? Follow these links:TEDNext: ted.com/futureyouTEDSports: ted.com/sportsTEDAI Vienna: ted.com/ai-viennaTEDAI San Francisco: ted.com/ai-sf Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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You're listening to TED Talks Daily, where we bring you new ideas to spark your curiosity every day. I'm your host, Elise Hu. Deep down, we may all be searching for the same things, to know who we are and that our existence will have a positive impact on the world.
At least this is what author and journalist Jennifer Wallace thinks and what led her to interview hundreds of people asking the simple question, do you feel like you matter? In her talk, she revealed that for so many, the answer to this question was actually no.
She digs into what she calls a crisis of mattering and shares what she's learned about how we can change the way we view ourselves and our places in the world so that ultimately we're able to answer, yes, I matter.
When we think about the most meaningful jobs in the world, firefighters are among the top of the list, right? While most of us run from danger, they run straight into it, risking their lives to save ours. The impact of their work is undeniable.
At least, that's what I had always assumed, until I met a firefighter named Greg, who told me that even firefighters can struggle to see the impact of their work. Really? How? How can that be? I remember asking Greg, and he explained with a story. When he was a rookie, he and his crew were called to a horrific car wreck. A woman was trapped inside, her legs were pinned under the twisted steel.
Greg's training took over. He looked for an opening, and he found a jagged opening, slid through to put his heavy bunker coat around the woman to shield her from the glass as they worked to rescue her. Greg promised he would stay by her side and they would get her out, and they did. But here is the part of Greg's story that stuck with me.
After that intense experience, Greg would never know what happened next. Did the woman survive? Did she ever walk again? Did their efforts that night make any difference? It surprised me to learn that firefighters rarely hear about the outcomes of their rescues. Over time, that lack of closure can erode morale. fuel burnout, even cynicism.
So years later, when Greg became fire chief, he created a system to change that. He tracked the outcomes of rescues because he wanted his firefighters to know when their efforts had saved a life or eased someone's suffering, because Greg knew something vital. It is not enough to do important work. We need to know our work makes a difference. We need to know we matter.
I'm a journalist, and for the past six years, I've interviewed hundreds of people around the world, like Greg, asking them a question. Do you feel like you matter? For too many, the answer was no. A doctor I interviewed described feeling powerless now that insurance companies were denying her patients the care they needed.
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