The daily practice that could rewire your brain | from TED Talks Daily - Fixable

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Episode: The daily practice that could rewire your brain
Featured Speaker: Tim Ciusano (Emotional Intelligence Coach)
Host: Elise Hu (TED Talks Daily)
Date: January 5, 2026

Overview

This episode features a powerful TED Talk from Tim Ciusano, an emotional intelligence coach, who shares his transformative discovery: cultivating a daily practice of appreciation can rewire your brain and enhance your day-to-day joy—even in challenging times. Ciusano’s story begins on one of his worst days in corporate life and evolves into a universal lesson on noticing the good in the mundane, ultimately offering actionable steps to introduce more appreciation into our lives.

Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Origin Story: A Terrible Corporate Day

Tim’s Background: At the time, Tim was overseeing a team of 270 and grappling with major workplace stress and looming layoffs.
The Inciting Moment ([02:57]):
- “One of those comically miserable days in corporate America… I get off the subway late again for dinner… As I’m walking home, I go, ooh, a manhole cover.”
- Tim narrates a mental shift: after dwelling on negative thoughts, he notices the design of a manhole cover and becomes fascinated.
- He questions himself: “How did I go from all these overwhelming thoughts… to a manhole cover? Am I an idiot?” ([03:33])

2. The Revelation: Addiction to Appreciation

Tim realizes his mind kept finding things to appreciate, even on hard days.
Key Quote ([04:10]):
- “This was the realization that I was addicted to appreciation, and that without it, life was remarkably less enjoyable because I was seeing the mundane things in this way.”
Definition:
- “Appreciation is the act of noticing and valuing the good in our worlds.”
- He distinguishes appreciation from simply being present—it’s about actively recognizing value.

3. Practice as a Path to Transformation

Daily practice of appreciating even tiny things (e.g., manhole covers, light bulbs) rewires the brain towards positivity.
Quote ([05:49]):
- “Being addicted to seeing the good and giving the benefit of the doubt unlocked an entirely different level of life and enjoyment.”
Social Impact: His simple Instagram story—“Be addicted to appreciation”—resonated deeply, fueling his pivot from personal coping mechanism to viral influence.

4. Appreciation vs. Gratitude

Conceptual Distinction ([07:06]):
- “Appreciation is foundational. Gratitude is transactional. To show gratitude you are actually receiving something. Appreciation is something that can just layer into everything that you are doing.”
Tim cites research from Rutgers:
- “Gratitude is just one of eight components that makes up what appreciation is. And simply by noticing things… you can have this mindset too.” ([08:01])

5. The Ripple Effect (Social & Personal Benefits)

As he adopted and shared this mindset—through vlogs of his hyper-structured days—people from different walks of life found comfort and inspiration.
Quote from Tim’s followers ([08:38]):
- “You make growing up less scary… I love the way that you look at life.”

6. Practical Examples: How to Start

Practice on “things” (light bulbs):
- Notice progress, what they enable, and the marvel in the everyday ([08:49]).
Practice on “people”:
- Even with difficult people, ask: “Could you ever look at somebody and say, I would have done better with your circumstances?… It's an impossible question to say yes to. That's the easiest way to appreciate someone else more.” ([09:27])

7. Setting Boundaries & Realism

Appreciation isn’t absolutist—Tim shares a humorous, relatable example ([09:40]):
- “My wife despises mayonnaise and that is fine. This is not absolute. The world is full of horrible, horrible things. Appreciation is not absolute.”

8. The Payoff: A Happier, More Connected Life

Benefits of daily appreciation:
- Increased happiness, presence, reduced taking things for granted, and encouragement for others.
Key Persuasion ([10:17]):
- “When you show appreciation on a consistent basis, it will allow you to encourage others and see the differences between us as reasons to believe in each other.”
Closing question:
- “Might this be better for us to take a bit less for granted on a day-to-day basis? I vote yes.” ([10:30])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On The Power of Noticing
- “It’s pretty cool that somebody figured out they would be safer if they were circles instead of squares.” ([03:04])
On Sharing His Revelation
- “Forward Instagram-only story: ‘Be addicted to appreciation.’ Really for friends and family as my only followers back then, but really I was saying it for me.” ([06:32])
On the Social Impact
- “I never in a million years thought [my videos] would actually take off. And they did.” ([08:38])
On Understanding Others
- “Could you ever look at somebody and say, I would have done better with your circumstances, with the entirety of your life up to this moment? It’s an impossible question to say yes to.” ([09:27])
On The Limits of Appreciation
- “My wife despises mayonnaise and that is fine. This is not absolute. The world is full of horrible, horrible things. Appreciation is not absolute.” ([09:40])
On Collective Change
- “The more we can understand and appreciate what is happening, the more we can appreciate what we are capable of when it comes to change together.” ([10:00])

Timestamps for Key Segments

02:02 — Tim begins his story: “My name is Tim. I'm addicted to appreciation…”
03:33 — Moment of self-questioning: “Is this the part of my brain that was holding me back?”
04:10 — Tim defines “addicted to appreciation”
05:49 — On how leaning into appreciation transformed his mood and energy
07:06 — Distinguishing appreciation from gratitude
08:01 — Research backing the concept
08:38 — Viral impact of his message on social media
08:49 — Practical application: appreciating things (light bulbs)
09:27 — Practical application: appreciating people (even difficult ones)
09:40 — The limits of appreciation (mayonnaise story)
10:17 — How appreciation makes you happier and helps society
10:30 — Call for a more appreciative collective mindset

Takeaway

Tim Ciusano’s TED Talk urges us to make appreciation—a non-transactional, ever-present act—a daily practice. He argues that this shift in perspective can rewire your brain, bringing more joy, resilience, and human connection even (and especially) during life’s hardest stretches. His message is both actionable and deeply human: make appreciating the small things a daily habit, and witness the ripple effects on your mood and interactions.

Transcript

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Ann (Podcast Host) (0:59)

Hey listeners, Ann here. Today we're sharing an episode of a podcast we think you'll love. It's been handpicked by the TED staff, and we think as a fixable listener, you'll come away with a fresh idea and a totally new perspective. Enjoy and head to the link in the description for more.

Elise Hu (TED Talks Daily Host) (1:21)

You're listening to TED Talks Daily, where we bring you new ideas to spark your curiosity every day. I'm your host, Elise Hunter. Do you believe that one simple mindset can change the entire way you see the world? Emotional intelligence coach Tim Chiusano does. In this talk, he shares how a random glance at a manhole cover during one of the darkest periods in his life led to a powerful revelation. He has since inspired millions to slow down, find joy in the ordinary, and, as he says, get addicted to appreciation.

Tim Ciusano (Emotional Intelligence Coach) (2:02)

Hi, my name is Tim. I'm addicted to appreciation. I know that sounds really strange, but if I do my job over the next eight minutes or so, you're not going to look at anything the same way ever again. And because of a manhole cover that I saw back on a terrible day in 2018. It was quite literally one of the top three worst days of my entire career. One of those comically miserable days in corporate America. I was managing a team of 270 people. Everybody seemed to have a meltdown on the same exact day at the same exact time. Eight hours of unnecessarily contentious meetings. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. And there were pending layoffs coming that spring. I was one of the few people in the company that knew that they were coming too. So the dread and the overwhelm was just hanging over me. I get off the subway late again for dinner and of course I check my phone immediately and there's an email from my boss that says, be in the office at 9am tomorrow morning and be prepared for that meeting to suck. Like, great. As I'm walking home, I go, ooh, a manhole cover. You know, it's pretty cool that somebody figured out that they would be safer if they were circles instead of squares. And I'm pretty sure that they're made in India too, which is interesting considering we're in New York City. I should look that up later. I'm like, Tim, what the f. How in the world did you go from all these overwhelming thoughts on such a terrible day to a manhole cover? Like, this is a sincere question in the moment. Am I an idiot? Like, how did. How is that. How is my brain going from one place to another? Is this the part of my brain that was holding me back? Right. Very serious corporate job. Is this the part of my brain that is distracting me, that is not allowing me to grow further than where I was? No. This was the realization that I was addicted to appreciation and that without it, life was remarkably less enjoyable because I was seeing the mundane things in this way. Appreciation is the act of noticing and valuing the good in our worlds. So by definition, being addicted to appreciation means being addicted to the recognition and enjoyment of the good qualities of someone or something, or simply wanting to have a better understanding of the world around us. Think about what that would mean for your day to day. And yes, this is being present. This is the enjoyment of some sort of activity and the people around you. But it's also the small things, like a round manhole cover in New York City. As I started to digest this and think, what does this actually mean and how do I harness it? I realized that before any cognitive biases could pop into my head, I was addicted to seeing the good and giving benefit of the doubt in a way that just unlocked an entirely different level of life for me and enjoyment. And the more that I leaned into this, it gave me energy, it gave me lust for life, and it gave me just joy on a day to day basis in ways that I could never imagine that have led me here today. Even on a day as gloomy as that day back in 2018. By the way, I'm wearing the same exact suit, which is the craziest thing. So of course I put it on social media that night, forward instagram only story be addicted to appreciation really for friends and family as my only followers back then, but really I was saying it for me that it's okay to see life this way. It was almost this like freeing moment of I'm going to lean into this harder and what is it going to do? This is something that will not only unlock how you see things, but this is an act that you can practice and will bring you joy in ways that you will not be able to imagine until you actually start to do it. And I know what you're thinking too. Appreciation and gratitude. Like, aren't we talking about the same thing here? No, these are two very different things. Appreciation is foundational. Gratitude is transactional. To show gratitude you are actually receiving something. Appreciation is something that can just layer into everything that you are doing in just your existence on a day to day basis. It can be annoying to see life this way on such a consistent basis, like raining for the third day in a row. Maybe that's good for the reservoirs. That arch nemesis at work that is kind of like that person that gives you a pit in your stomach that's somebody to understand better, show up where they need to be met and then you have the upper hand in the relationship simply because you appreciated them more. Please trust me on this one. This one works super, super well. And this is not just my opinion. It felt really good when it was just my opinion. But to see this corroborated took it to a whole other level. There is a professor from Rutgers that made appreciation a core part of her studies and she concluded that appreciation can be a disposition that it is not the same as gratitude, that gratitude is actually just one of eight components that makes up what appreciation is. And simply by noticing things on a day to day basis you can have this mindset of appreciation too. This is what led to me having a audience of a million and a half people on social media. Which is super weird to say. At 48 years old I was making these daily vlogs of my corporate life that were like maniacal 4am to 10pm scheduled in 15 minute time blocking increments and people were like wow, this is cool and like super soothing to watch. This is a dope ass Monday in your 40s is an opening hook on social media. I never in a million years thought would like actually take off. And it did. And I started to see comments along the lines of you make growing up less scary and even though we are from completely different worlds, I love the way that you look at life. I had no Intention of having that path lead me here today. But that's what appreciation has done for me. So let me show you how you can start to incorporate it into your life too. We're going to start with a thing for the sake of picking something that is around us right now. We're going to go with the light bulb omnipresent in today's world. Something we don't show gratitude for, right? Like we don't stop and you're like, I'm so grateful for this light bulb. But if you can think about the progress that light bulbs have made over time, if you can think about what it can do for our mood, look at this stage, look at what lighting can do. It is remarkable. And even if you just think, wow, that's dope. Is it? Passing thought like that makes a huge difference. And not to mention what it can do for you, the fact that it just lights up a room and you need it to. So when you go to bed tonight, think about the light bulb just for a second. It will make a difference. All right. Now, a person, maybe the person sitting next to you stole the seat that you thought you were going to sit in. Maybe they cut you off in line. If you ever need a reason to think how I could appreciate that person more, could you ever look at somebody and say, I would have done better with your circumstances, with the entirety of your life up to this moment?