What Ping-Pong Taught Me About Life | Pico Iyer | TED

Growing up in England, Pico Iyer was taught that the point of a game was to win. Now, some 50 years later, he’s realized that competition can be “more like an act of love.“ In this charming, subtly profound talk, he explores what regular games of ping-pong in his neighborhood in Japan have revealed about the riddle of winning — and shows why not knowing who’s won can feel like the ultimate victory. Learn how to make your travels truly transformative in Pico Iyer’s upcoming TED Course “How to take a life-changing journey.” You’ll learn how to set an intention and choose a destination, how to make the most out of your arrival and be fully present while you travel, how to navigate cultural differences and how to live differently when you return home. Enroll now: Follow TED! Twitter: Instagram: Facebook: LinkedIn: TikTok: @tedtoks The TED Talks channel features talks, performances and original series from the world’s leading thinkers and doers. Subscribe to our channel for videos on Technology, Entertainment and Design — plus science, business, global issues, the arts and more. Visit to get our entire library of TED Talks, transcripts, translations, personalized talk recommendations and more. 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 (). 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