Quotes About Vulnerability

Laura's courage is acknowledging hurt without running from it, and my courage is acknowledging hurt and not hurting back. We also agreed that cruelty is never brave—it's mostly cheap and easy, especially in today's culture.

Shame and humiliation will never be effective social justice tools.

comparing ourselves to others leads us to fear, anger, shame, and sadness.

The trick to staying out of resentment is maintaining better boundaries—blaming others less and holding myself more accountable for asking for what I need and want.

Why do we insist on dress-rehearsing tragedy in moments of deep joy? Because joy is the most vulnerable emotion we feel. And that's saying something, given that I study fear and shame.

define narcissism as the shame-based fear of being ordinary.

When we're in shame, we're not fit for human consumption. And we're especially dangerous around people over whom we have some power.

Perfectionism is not the key to success.

Healthy striving is self-focused: How can I improve? Perfectionism is other-focused: What will people think? Perfectionism is a hustle.

If we want greater clarity in our purpose or deeper and more meaningful spiritual lives, vulnerability is the path.

In 2010, two years after that event, I wrote The Gifts of Imperfection, a book that introduced my research on the ten guideposts for wholeheartedness.

Get Inspired: I'm inspired by everyone who shares their work and opinions with the world. Courage is contagious. My friend Katherine Center says, "You have to be brave with your life so that others can be brave with theirs." 3

If you want to kick-start your shame resilience and story-claiming, start with these questions. Figuring out the answers can change your life: 1. Who do you become when you're backed into that shame corner? 2. How do you protect yourself? 3.

Too often we forget about the "what is okay" part, and that leads to unnecessary disconnection.

being low maintenance also meant not asking for what you needed and never inconveniencing anyone.

especially when the joy is so intense that we're afraid to let ourselves feel it.

As a shame researcher, I've learned that wherever perfectionism is driving us, shame is riding shotgun.

There's probably not a single act at work that requires more vulnerability than holding people responsible for ethics and values, especially when you're alone in it or there's a lot of money, power, or influence at stake.

Somente quando temos coragem suficiente para explorar a escuridão, descobrimos o poder infinito de nossa própria luz.

The friend who is all about making it better and, out of her own discomfort, refuses to acknowledge that you can actually be crazy and make terrible choices: "You're exaggerating. It wasn't that bad. You rock. You're perfect. Everyone loves you.

know that asking for what we need and talking openly about our expectations is vulnerable.

vulnerability is derived from the Latin word vulnerare, meaning "to wound." The definition includes "capable of being wounded" and "open to attack or damage." Merriam-Webster defines weakness as the inability to withstand attack or wounding. Just from a linguistic perspective, it's clear that these are very different concepts, and in fact, one could argue that weakness often stems from a lack of vulnerability

The irony across all self-protection is that at the same time as we're worrying about machine learning and artificial intelligence taking jobs and dehumanizing work, we're intentionally or unintentionally creating cultures that, instead of leveraging the unique gifts of the human heart like vulnerability, empathy, and emotional literacy, are trying to lock those gifts away.

vulnerability—the willingness to show up and be seen with no guarantee of outcome—is the only path to more love, belonging, and joy.