How to prepare yourself for 2026 (with 3 lessons from TED-Ed)

Elise Hu introduces a special episode of TED Talks Daily featuring three TED-Ed lessons adapted for podcasts, focusing on reflection and action as the year ends. The first lesson explores overcoming mistakes, discussing how failure can be painful and hinder learning, referencing a study where participants learning a language either succeeded or failed initially, impacting later performance. The second lesson examines decision fatigue, using a study of judges granting parole as an example, and offers strategies to combat it, such as reducing daily decisions and seeking advice. The final lesson delves into motivation, differentiating between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, and how they affect goal persistence, mentioning the over justification effect where too many extrinsic motivators can decrease intrinsic drive.