Each day we face a barrage of images and messages from
society and the media telling us who, what, and how we should be. We are led to
believe that if we could only look perfect and lead perfect lives, we’d no
longer feel inadequate. So most of us perform, please, and perfect, all the
while thinking, “What if I can’t keep all of these balls in the air? Why isn’t
everyone else working harder and living up to my expectations? What will people
think if I fail or give up? When can I stop proving myself?”
In The Gifts of Imperfection, Brene Brown, PhD, a leading
expert on shame, authenticity and belonging, shares what she’s learned from a
decade of research on the power of Wholehearted Living—a way of engaging with
the world from a place of worthiness.
In her ten guideposts, Brown engages our minds, hearts, and
spirits as she explores how we can cultivate the courage, compassion, and
connection to wake up in the morning and think, “no matter what gets done and
how much is left undone, I am enough,” and to go to bed thinking, “Yes, I am
sometimes afraid, but I am also brave. And yes, I am imperfect and vulnerable,
but that doesn’t change the truth that I am worthy of love and belonging.”
Brene Brown is one of my favorite authors for self-help and
research. She just turns things on their heads and helps you see things from a
totally different perspective. I loved her book “Daring Greatly” which focused
a lot on shame resilience and vulnerability and how it was a good thing. In this
book she focuses mostly on Women and how imperfection is truly a gift and how
to accept yourself whole-heartedly and live the truth that you are enough and
your worth doesn’t depend on how much you get done in a day or what others
think of you or even what you believe about yourself. It’s a book about loving
yourself and giving yourself a break. I really enjoyed it, but still prefer “Daring
Greatly”. Brene Brown does a few TED talks that are definitely worth watching too. like this one:
I give it a 3.5 out of 5