Quotes from Brene Brown

The combination of fear of disappointment, entitlement, and performance pressure is a recipe for hopelessness and self-doubt.

It also takes discipline and self-awareness to understand what to share and with whom.

They recognize the power of emotion and they're not afraid to lean in to discomfort.

We avoid tough conversations, including giving honest, productive feedback. Some leaders attributed this to a lack of courage, others to a lack of skills, and, shockingly, more than half talked about a cultural norm of "nice and polite" that's leveraged as an excuse to avoid tough conversations.

Choosing our own comfort over hard conversations is the epitome of privilege, and it corrodes trust and moves us away from meaningful and lasting change.

Serve the work" is about stewardship. Three of these behaviors are: I take responsibility for our community's and consumers' experience. I am responsible for the energy I bring to situations, so I work to stay positive. I take ownership of adapting to the fast pace of this environment.

Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it.

You can see how this process takes lofty and subjective values and makes them real and actionable. Clear is kind. Unclear is unkind.

I've heard people say that disappointment is like a paper cut—painful, but not long-lasting. I do believe we can heal disappointment, but it's important not to underestimate the damage it inflicts on our spirit.

Like our lovability and divinity, we must care for and nurture the stories we tell ourselves about our creativity and ability. Just because we didn't measure up to some standard of achievement doesn't mean that we don't possess gifts and talents that only we can bring to the world. Just because someone failed to see the value in what we can create or achieve doesn't change its worth or ours.

Honestly, as someone who rarely risked vulnerability and always steered clear of silly or goofy, it never dawned on me that adults could love each other like that; that I could be loved for my vulnerabilities, not despite them.

I think that's the biggest watch-out with irony and sarcasm: Are you dressing something up in humor that actually requires clarity and honesty?

The difference between shame and guilt lies in the way we talk to ourselves. Shame is a focus on self, while guilt is a focus on behavior.

When we don't practice love with the people we claim to love, it takes a lot out of us. Incongruent living is exhausting.

For soldiers serving in Afghanistan and Iraq, coming home is more lethal than being in combat. From the invasion of Afghanistan to the summer of 2009, the US military lost 761 soldiers in combat in that country. Compare that to the 817 who took their own lives over the same period, and this number does account for deaths related to violence, high-risk behaviors, and addiction.

think of it as the audacity of authenticity. Most of us have shame triggers around being perceived as self-indulgent or self-focused.

To be kinder and gentler with ourselves and each other. To talk to ourselves the same way we'd talk to someone we care about.

It is in the process of embracing our imperfections that we find our truest gifts: courage, compassion, and connection.

Vulnerability paradox: Vulnerability is the the first thing I look for in you and the last thing I want you to see in me.

Vulnerability is about sharing our feelings and our experiences with people who have earned the right to hear them.

I'd love to skip over the hard stuff, but it just doesn't work. We don't change, we don't grow, and we don't move forward without the work. If we really want to live a joyful, connected, and meaningful life, we must talk about things that get in the way.

The wilderness is an untamed, unpredictable place of solitude and searching. It is a place as dangerous as it is breathtaking, a place as sought after as it is feared. But it turns out to be the place of true belonging, and it's the bravest and most sacred place you will ever stand

experiences that make us the most vulnerable. Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light.

Choosing authenticity means cultivating the courage to be imperfect.