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Cara E. Yar Khan: The beautiful balance between courage and fear | TED
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Cara E. Yar Khan: The beautiful balance between courage and fear | TED

The Power of Courage and Dreams

In this section, the speaker discusses the importance of courage and dreams in our lives.

Innocent Bravery and Fearless Dreams

  • When we're young, we fearlessly dream about what our lives might be like.
  • Examples of childhood dreams: being an astronaut, a rocket scientist, or traveling to every continent.
  • The speaker's dream was to work for the United Nations in challenging countries.

The Balance Between Fear and Bravery

  • Courage is not always readily available; it requires reflection and work.
  • Without fear, we may act foolishly. Without courage, we won't step into the unknown.
  • The magic lies in finding a balance between fear and bravery.

Overcoming Limitations with Courage

This section focuses on how courage can help overcome limitations imposed by others.

Diagnosis of Hereditary Inclusion Body Myopathy (HIBM)

  • The speaker was diagnosed with HIBM, a rare progressive muscle wasting disease.
  • There is no proven treatment or cure for HIBM.
  • Within 10 to 15 years of onset, HIBM typically leads to quadriplegia.

Facing Frightening News

  • The diagnosis was frightening as the speaker had no experience with chronic illness or disabilities.
  • Others advised her to limit her ambitions and dreams due to her condition.

Ignoring Limitations Imposed by Others

  • The speaker chose to ignore the limitations imposed by others on her dreams and ambitions.
  • She got married but decided not to have children.
  • She continued her career with the United Nations after her diagnosis.

Balancing Fear and Courage

This section emphasizes that balancing fear and courage is an ongoing challenge for everyone.

Daily Struggle with Fear and Courage

  • Finding the balance between fear and courage is a constant challenge for all of us.

Adapting to Life with HIBM

The speaker shares her personal experience of adapting to life with HIBM.

Transitioning to Using a Wheelchair

  • The speaker used to be able-bodied but started experiencing falls in her mid-twenties.
  • She was diagnosed with HIBM, which eventually led her to use a wheelchair.

Coping with the Diagnosis

  • The diagnosis was initially disheartening as the speaker had no idea how the disease might progress.
  • Others advised her to limit her ambitions and change her expectations from life.

Overcoming Limitations Imposed by Others

This section highlights the speaker's determination to overcome limitations imposed by others.

Rejecting Imposed Limitations

  • The speaker refused to let others put limitations on her dreams and ambitions.
  • She got married, continued her career, and pursued working in challenging countries.

Embracing Courageous Adventures

This section focuses on the speaker's pursuit of adventurous experiences despite her condition.

Dreaming of an Outdoor Adventure

  • Despite facing challenges due to HIBM, the speaker dreamed of embarking on a grand outdoor adventure.
  • Her dream destination became the Grand Canyon.

Challenging Accessibility at the Grand Canyon

  • Only one percent of visitors go down to the base of the Grand Canyon.
  • The speaker needed assistance due to limited accessibility options.

Finding Solutions through Courage

This section highlights how courage can help find solutions in overcoming obstacles.

Learning Horseback Riding

  • Unable to walk down into the canyon, the speaker decided to learn horseback riding as an alternative.
  • This decision marked the beginning of a four-year commitment to undertake a 12-day expedition.

Overcoming Fear of Heights

This section focuses on the speaker's experience of facing and overcoming her fear of heights during the Grand Canyon expedition.

Confronting Fear at the Grand Canyon

  • The speaker discovered her fear of heights when she first encountered the Grand Canyon.
  • Despite the fear, she mustered up courage to continue the expedition.

Facing Challenges Along the Way

  • During the descent, an accident occurred where she hit her face on the horse's head.
  • Despite setbacks, she persevered and continued with determination.

A Journey of Courage and Resilience

This section highlights how the speaker's journey through challenges demonstrated courage and resilience.

Internalizing HIBM Severity

  • It took over a decade for the speaker to fully understand and internalize the severity of HIBM.
  • Basic tasks became increasingly difficult, but she continued pursuing her dreams.

Serving in Haiti after Earthquake

  • The speaker served as a disability focal point for UNICEF in Haiti after the devastating 2010 earthquake.

Pursuing Adventure at All Costs

This section emphasizes how the speaker pursued adventure despite her condition.

Dreaming of Exploring Grand Canyon

  • Even as her condition progressed significantly, the speaker still longed for adventure.
  • She dreamed of exploring and experiencing the grandeur of the Grand Canyon.

Limited Accessibility at Grand Canyon

  • Only one percent of visitors go down to the base due to accessibility challenges.
  • The speaker needed assistance to navigate through vertical loose terrain.

Overcoming Obstacles with Determination

This section highlights how determination helped overcome obstacles during the Grand Canyon expedition.

Learning Horseback Riding as an Alternative

  • Unable to walk down, the speaker decided to learn horseback riding as an alternative.
  • This decision marked the beginning of a four-year commitment to undertake a 12-day expedition.

Overcoming Fear and Pursuing Adventure

  • The speaker faced fear and uncertainty but believed she would figure it out.
  • She embarked on a 10-hour descent into the canyon with determination.

Courage in the Face of Challenges

This section emphasizes how courage helped the speaker overcome challenges during the Grand Canyon expedition.

Confronting Fear of Heights

  • The speaker discovered her fear of heights when encountering the Grand Canyon.
  • Despite this fear, she mustered up courage to continue the expedition.

Facing Setbacks and Injuries

  • During the journey, setbacks occurred, including hitting her face on the horse's head.
  • Despite injuries and difficulties, she persevered with courage.

A Journey of Resilience and Triumph

This section highlights how resilience and triumph were demonstrated throughout the Grand Canyon expedition.

Overcoming Challenges Along the Way

  • The speaker encountered various challenges during her journey through the Grand Canyon.
  • Despite these obstacles, she showed resilience and determination to continue.

Achieving Success at Grand Canyon

  • Spoiler alert: The speaker successfully completed her expedition through horseback riding and rafting.
  • Her deepest fears were met with equal measures of courage.

The Grand Canyon and the Wilderness

The speaker emphasizes that the Grand Canyon is a true wilderness and deserving of its accolades. The audience applauds.

Exploring Fear and Courage

  • The speaker reflects on their expedition to the Grand Canyon, highlighting how it exposed them to a level of fear they had never experienced before.
  • Despite the challenges, the journey also revealed their capacity for bold courage.
  • The speaker acknowledges that their Grand Canyon journey was not easy, contrasting it with an idealized image of an Amazonian woman effortlessly navigating epic scenery.
  • They describe moments of exhaustion, tears, and physical injuries during the trip, which were both scary and exhilarating.

Lessons Learned from the Trip

Reflecting on their experience, the speaker shares insights about bravery and risk-taking.

Balancing Fear and Courage

  • The speaker expresses a desire to raft all 277 miles of the river again but states they would never attempt the horseback-riding part due to its danger.
  • Their main point is not just to showcase film footage but to remind everyone that life is about finding balance between fear and courage.
  • Understanding what is a good idea versus what isn't plays a crucial role in this balance.
  • Life itself can be scary, so pursuing dreams requires bravery.
  • By facing fears head-on and finding courage within themselves, one can overcome obstacles.

Timestamps are provided for each section as per the given transcript.

Channel: TED
Video description

After being diagnosed with a rare genetic condition that deteriorates muscle, Cara E. Yar Khan was told she'd have to limit her career ambitions and dial down her dreams. She ignored that advice and instead continued to pursue her biggest ambitions. In this powerful, moving talk, she shares her philosophy for working on the projects that matter to her most -- while letting courage and fear coexist. Watch for heart-stopping, vertigo-inducing footage of a trip that shows her living her theory to the full. Visit http://TED.com to get our entire library of TED Talks, transcripts, translations, personalized talk recommendations and more. The TED Talks channel features the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less). Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design -- plus science, business, global issues, the arts and more. You're welcome to link to or embed these videos, forward them to others and share these ideas with people you know. Become a TED Member: http://ted.com/membership Follow TED on Twitter: http://twitter.com/TEDTalks Like TED on Facebook: http://facebook.com/TED Subscribe to our channel: http://youtube.com/TED TED's videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy (https://www.ted.com/about/our-organization/our-policies-terms/ted-talks-usage-policy). For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request at https://media-requests.ted.com