Daring Greatly: How the courage to be vulnerable transforms the way we live, love, parent and lead

Jan 1

If I’m mentioning a book on my blog, it’s because I think it’s great but this particular book is the one that I think everyone should read (or listen to).

Brené Brown quashes the myth that vulnerability is weakness and argues the opposite – that it is, in fact, a display of courage. She talks about how vulnerability is at the core of all human emotions, and how much we need to embrace it in order to live meaningful lives.

But, being vulnerable is one of the hardest things to do. It’s the thing that we spend most of our time avoiding for fear of being judged. It might be that one thing that we tell ourselves we’re not. It’s that thing that leaves a bitter taste in the mouth after it’s happened and makes us want to shed our skin or go underground. And yet, afterwards, when the dust has settled, we often find that it brings us closer to others because we’re showing our human side.

The words inside this book speak for themselves and I’d not do it justice by reviewing, so I’m sharing some of my favourite quotes instead to whet your appetite and I really hope you give it a go. It’s deep, honest and personal and has given me much food for thought in terms of how I want to live my life and how I want to parent.

“When we shut ourselves off from vulnerability, we distance ourselves from the experiences that bring purpose and meaning to our lives.”

“We live in a world where most people still subscribe to the belief that shame is a good tool for keeping people in line. Not only is this wrong, but it’s dangerous. Shame is highly correlated with addiction, violence, aggression, depression, eating disorders, and bullying.”

“Who we are and how we engage with the world are much stronger predictors of how our children will do than what we know about parenting.”

“Living a connected life ultimately is about setting boundaries, spending less time and energy hustling and winning over people who don’t matter, and seeing the value of working on cultivating connection with family and close friends.”