Shonda Rhimes Explains How She Reclaimed the Joy in the Her Life in a Fantastic TED Talk

Shonda Rhimes describes herself as a "titan." The woman behind ABC's #TGIT has scaled the heights of the television industry with the help of her indomitable work ethic. She describes the joy she derives from her work as "the hum" in a phenomenal new TED Talk.

"The hum" is not all play, she explains. "A dream job is not about dreaming. It's all job, all work." And soon the work became a bore, and she came to an impasse. "What do you do when the work you do, the thing you love starts to taste like dust?"

So she decided to change things up. She tried something new. Playing. She goes on, "I'm not good at playing. I don't like it." That's fair, and it's a common feeling amongst the hyper-driven. But while she was playing with her children, a funny thing happened. She began to enjoy it. She learned that playing helped her work better—that being in tune with her family made her happy.

She concludes the talk with the realization that "that hum is not me." Shonda is much more than her groundbreaking success, and her talk was a wonderful reminder that joy comes from a balanced life. This is an extension of her bestselling memoir, Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand In the Sun and Be Your Own Person.

Shonda Rhimes Ted talks