What do a law exam, a divorce, and a pole in a European nightclub have in common? For Zalak Raval, they collided at 10:15 pm on May 28, 2018 and sparked a full-blown existential crisis (sequins included). In this raw, unexpectedly funny, deeply insightful, and vividly animated TEDx Talk, Zalak shares the moment her unconscious took center stage and demanded better choreography. That night marked the start of her unlearning: the hidden patterns scripting her relationships, steering her choices, and shrinking her sense of self. Somewhere between heartbreak and a quote from Carl Jung—“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life, and you will call it fate”—everything began to shift. With humor and clarity, Zalak reveals how early emotional bonds shape how we love, attach, focus our attention, and repeat painful patterns. What we call “normal” is often just unconscious programming—and rewriting it takes discipline. She shares three transformative tools: understanding your “normal,” catching and redirecting harmful thoughts, and slowing down to take back control/to create space for a passionate life. Watch now to laugh, reflect, and catch your unconscious doing cartwheels—because it’s one thing to find yourself upside down on a pole… it’s another to know you chose to be there. At 27, Zalak felt lost. A series of personal and professional failures stripped her back to the bone. She could not understand why her life felt so directionless and hollow. However, then a chance moment in a Denmark nightclub made the invisible – visible. The journey from that moment to a life following her passion inspired her to share her experience, helping others struggling with identity, direction, and discipline. She wrote her first book in 2024, ‘50 Shades of Shit: How to Unlearn and Re-wire our Unconscious’, a blend of philosophy, practical tools and painfully funny true stories. When she is not delving into unpacking the subconscious, Zalak practices Corporate Securities law as a Senior Associate at a law firm. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
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- 17:10Does free will exist? | Christian List | TEDxTUMDo we genuinely possess free will, or are our actions dictated by the laws of nature? In his insightful talk, Christian List, a Professor of Philosophy at LMU, delves into the intricate debate between free will and determinism. He navigates the scientific challenges to the concept of free will, exploring everything from deterministic physics to the randomness found in quantum mechanics. List thoughtfully considers whether our ability to make choices can truly exist alongside a scientific perspective. By drawing on examples from social sciences and everyday experiences, he argues that science has not disproven free will; instead, it serves as a crucial framework for understanding human behavior.Chair and Co-Director of the Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy. As a professor of philosophy at LMU Munich, Christian’s groundbreaking work explores decision theory, free will, and collective rationality.This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
- 17:02How hustle culture suppresses our identity | Lou Pavek | TEDxStetsonUWhile hustle culture promises success to hard-working people, this chase for success often results in constant fight or flight, hindering people from thinking about their needs and goals through limited time and energy. This speaker addresses how hustle culture can impede people’s abilities to truly understand themselves through three components: burnout, perfectionism, and people-pleasing. Lou Pavek was born in Edina, Minnesota, and raised in Jacksonville, Florida. She graduated summa cum laude from Stetson University in May 2023 with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. While at Stetson, she was introduced to research after serving as a Research Assistant on multiple projects with Dr. Garcia and Dr. Eskenazi in the Psychology Department. In her senior year, Lou later served as the first-ever Research Coordinator for Stetson’s Brain Fitness Academy and conducted a research project that, like this talk, studies productivity. Outside of psychology, Lou was involved in FOCUS Orientation, Student Ambassadors, and more. Since graduation, Lou has been a Research Assistant for Dr. Woods and Dr. Gullett at the University of Florida’s Center for Cognitive Aging and Memory. Lou has also volunteered as a crisis counselor, peer reviewer, and assistant at Gainesville’s Civic Media Center. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
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- 7:12From blind spots to focus: Controlling what you can see | Alexia Sotomayor | TEDxSaintAndrewsSchoolIn this talk, Alexia Sotomayor challenges the way we perceive limitations. She shares how growing up with unilateral vision and navigating setbacks in her Olympic Journey taught her that seeing differently can turn obstacles into opportunities and redefine success. Alexia is a competitive swimmer from Peru and a senior at Saint Andrew’s School, where she is a Residential Life Student. She has spent the past three years training at the highest level while balancing academics and life away from home. Born with unilateral vision, she has to navigate the challenges of depth perception and limited peripheral sight both in and out of the pool. Outside of the water, she has a deep passion for storytelling and loves music and art, perceiving them as different ways to see everything. She is always looking for new ways to challenge her perspective and understanding of the world. She joined TEDx because she believes in the power of ideas to create change and wanted to share her journey of overcoming mental and physical barriers beyond what the eye can see. Through her talk, she hopes to inspire others to rethink how they define success and recognize that sometimes, the biggest obstacles aren’t the ones we can’t see, but the ones we refuse to. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
