Heyyy Congress. We noticed you’re having a wee bit of trouble working out this government shutdown snafu, so we thought, hey, since you’ve got extra time on your hands and we’re taking a lunch break, we should totally hang. Want to come watch talks with us? We picked some just for you! Nice talks about getting along and talking it out and being super awesome standup citizens. Because we all get by with a little help from our friends.

[ted id=1017]

The walk from “no” to “yes”: William Ury at TEDxMidwest
Decisions are hard, right? Well, this talk is all about how to make them. When you’re staring at the options with no idea what you should do, this guy’s got you covered.

The multiplicity of truth: Julian Baggini at TEDxKingsCollegeLondon
Okay, so, everything isn’t black and white, and no one is always right. Not exactly a politician’s M.O., but take it from a philosopher — it is possible to get through all those gray areas.

[ted id=1052]

Take “the Other” to lunch: Elizabeth Lesser at TEDWomen
Lesser has some good news: it’s A-OK to take your lunch break. The catch? You have to eat with someone you don’t agree with. Yeah, it’s kinda awkward, but in order to get the other side, you’ve gotta actually talk.

Nadia Goodman contributed to this post, which originally ran on the TEDx Blog. Find out much more about the wide world of TEDx there »