Best TED Talks on Gratitude for Thanksgiving 2025: An Expert Review

Every Thanksgiving, I return to a question I ask my coaching clients, the teams that I work with, and occasionally myself on challenging days:
“What beauty are you rushing past?”

As a holistic educator and an executive coach, gratitude is one of the most powerful tools I teach: not because it is trendy, but because it transforms. It rewires patterns, softens defensiveness, strengthens assertiveness, and helps us reclaim the present moment from the loud urgencies of life.

This year, I revisited some of the best TED Talks on gratitude: the ones I often assign to clients when they say things like, “Ariana, I know I should be grateful, but right now my brain is acting like gratitude is a scam.”

Below is my personal ranking and review with stories from the coaching room, the classroom, and yes, the parenting trenches of the TED Talks that truly embody the spirit of Thanksgiving 2025.

1. Want to Be Happy? Be Grateful – Brother David Steindl-Rast

If gratitude had a grandfather, it would be Brother David.

His message is simple but revolutionary: Happiness is not the cause of gratitude; gratitude is the cause of happiness.
The monk’s calm presence alone feels like a mindfulness session.

I once assigned this talk to a client who believed joy was something you “earned” only after checking off a long list of achievements. After watching it, she returned to our session and said: “Ariana, I realized I have been sprinting through blessings like they were potholes.”

That week, she started her “Pause Practice” : one minute each morning to notice one thing she usually ignores. She discovered peace… in her car’s AC. Progress is progress.

This talk is an international classic for a reason.

2. How Gratitude Rewires Your Brain – Christina Costa

If Brother David is the soul of gratitude, Christina Costa is the neuroscience.

Her story; thriving emotionally even after a brain tumour diagnosis: feels like a powerful case study on resilience. Costa breaks down the neural science of gratitude with warmth and relatability, reminding us that gratitude is not a mood; it is a mental workout.

I used this talk recently in a corporate coaching cohort where a participant joked, “Ariana, if gratitude can rewire my brain, please tell it to also improve my Wi-Fi.”

Yet even he began a gratitude-journaling routine that helped him navigate conflict without shutting down. His feedback?
“My stress is still here, but it no longer drives.” That is the rewiring.

For anyone who needs science with their spirituality, this is your talk.

3. Nature. Beauty. Gratitude. – Louie Schwartzberg

If you want a TED Talk to make your heart exhale, this is it.

Schwartzberg’s slow-moving visuals of nature feel like therapy, the kind you do not need insurance for. This talk reminds us that beauty is not ornamental; it is medicinal.

I often recommend this to parents of young children, especially those in my early-childhood education circles who feel overwhelmed.

One mama told me after watching it, “Ariana, I cried at a close-up of a mushroom. I think I needed that.”
Same, sis. Same.

Watch this talk when the world feels too sharp.

4. The Profound Power of Gratitude and ‘Living Eulogies’ – Andrea Driessen

This one hits the heart directly.

Driessen challenges us to stop saving our kindest words for funerals. Instead, give them now : when they can fuel, strengthen, and heal.

I used this idea in a workshop for educators. One teacher wrote a “living eulogy” to a colleague she admired but had never told. The next day, the colleague walked into the training teary-eyed and whispering, “I did not know I mattered this much.”

Gratitude is most powerful when it is expressed, not implied.

5. Learning to Be Grateful Can Increase Happiness – Dr. Ike Shibley

Practical, relatable, and especially good for students or anyone trying to unlearn old habits.

Shibley makes gratitude feel teachable, like a skill, not a moral duty. His talk is perfect for young adults who feel gratitude is “too woo-woo.” I once shared this with a teenager who rolled his eyes through most of our sessions.

After watching, he admitted: “Okay, fine. Gratitude is not that deep. But it works.” I will take the win.

This talk is great for beginners or skeptics.

My Final Thoughts For Thanksgiving 2025

As I raise my glass under the palms of Freetown, I send this thanksgiving across the seas to my American family and friends.

In the rich soil of Sierra Leonean community; where gratitude is woven into church prayers, family meals, harvest festivals, ancestral libations, and communal songs. I am reminded that thankfulness is not a holiday. It is a way of life.

I invite you to try my signature coaching exercise:

The 3-Part Gratitude Reset

1. Grateful For : Name one thing you appreciate today.

2. Grateful To :Identify someone whose presence enriches your life.

3. Grateful Forward : Something you are intentionally choosing to appreciate in the future.

Gratitude is not denial.
It is direction.
It is choosing, over and over: to notice the gifts instead of the gaps.

These TED Talks offer tools, reminders, and gentle nudges for that journey. Watch them, share them, and let gratitude do its quiet, powerful work in you.

Happy Thanksgiving 2025.
With appreciation,
Ariana Oluwole