The 45 Best Brené Brown Quotes About Courage, Shame & Vulnerability - Deepstash
The 45 Best Brené Brown Quotes About Courage, Shame & Vulnerability

The 45 Best Brené Brown Quotes About Courage, Shame & Vulnerability

Curated from: fourminutebooks.com

Ideas, facts & insights covering these topics:

49 ideas

·

28K reads

68

3

Explore the World's Best Ideas

Join today and uncover 100+ curated journeys from 50+ topics. Unlock access to our mobile app with extensive features.

<p><a href="https://en.wikiped...

Brené Brown is the world’s #1 researcher on shame, vulnerability, and courage. An American professor, author, and podcaster born in 1965, Brené’s work first received widespread public attention after her 2010 TEDx talk on “the power of vulnerability.” If you’re looking for the best Brené Brown quotes from her books and talks, you’ve come to the right place!

138

1.41K reads

Despite covering important topics that affect all of us, Brené’s research initially wasn’t super popular among her academic peers. After her TED talk went viral, however, it became clear that mainstream demand to learn more about shame and vulnerability was huge. That’s why Brené started publishing books , and so far, 6 of her 8 main titles have become major bestsellers.

129

1.16K reads

To give you an overview of her work and best ideas, we’ve compiled the most popular Brené Brown quotes for you in an organized list. Besides the top 10 lines based on reader votes, we’ve also included the top 5 quotes from 7 of her books each, as well as some custom-designed images for you to share your favorites on social media.

128

951 reads

Navigating this list is as easy as clicking on the section that most interests you in the table of contents below. To share any quote, just highlight the text, and sharing options will appear. You can also use the images towards the end of this list.

Now, without further ado, let’s jump into the best quotes from Brené Brown!

129

867 reads

1. “Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it. Embracing our vulnerabilities is risky but not nearly as dangerous as giving up on love and belonging and joy—the 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.”

160

1.15K reads

2. “Love is not something we give or get; it is something that we nurture and grow, a connection that can only be cultivated between two people when it exists within each one of them — we can only love others as much as we love ourselves.”

156

1.07K reads

3. “Authenticity is a collection of choices that we have to make every day. It’s about the choice to show up and be real. The choice to be honest. The choice to let our true selves be seen.”

151

984 reads

4. “You are imperfect, you are wired for struggle, but you are worthy of love and belonging.”

149

981 reads

5. “Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change.”

144

844 reads

6. “I define connection as the energy that exists between people when they feel seen, heard, and valued; when they can give and receive without judgment; and when they derive sustenance and strength from the relationship.”

144

816 reads

7. “Courage starts with showing up and letting ourselves be seen.”

144

761 reads

8. “Because true belonging only happens when we present our authentic, imperfect selves to the world, our sense of belonging can never be greater than our level of self-acceptance.”

143

768 reads

9. “Vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage. Truth and courage aren’t always comfortable, but they’re never weakness.”

143

714 reads

10. “Vulnerability is the birthplace of love, belonging, joy, courage, empathy, and creativity. It is the source of hope, empathy, accountability, and authenticity. If we want greater clarity in our purpose or deeper and more meaningful spiritual lives, vulnerability is the path.”

135

620 reads

11. “Shame corrodes the very part of us that believes we are capable of change.”

136

652 reads

12. “If you want to make a difference, the next time you see someone being cruel to another human being, take it personally. Take it personally because it is personal!”

136

630 reads

13. “Courage is a heart word. The root of the word courage is ‘cor’ — the Latin word for heart. In one of its earliest forms, the word courage meant ‘To speak one’s mind by telling all one’s heart.’ Over time, this definition has changed, and today, we typically associate courage with heroic and brave deeds. But in my opinion, this definition fails to recognize the inner strength and level of commitment required for us to actually speak honestly and openly about who we are and about our experiences — good and bad. Speaking from our hearts is what I think of as ‘ordinary courage.’”

139

534 reads

14. “Compassion is not a virtue — it is a commitment. It’s not something we have or don’t have — it’s something we choose to practice.”

141

568 reads

15. “The biggest potential for helping us overcome shame is this: We are ‘those people.’ The truth is…we are the others. Most of us are one paycheck, one divorce, one drug-addicted kid, one mental health illness, one sexual assault, one drinking binge, one night of unprotected sex, or one affair away from being ‘those people’ — the ones we don’t trust, the ones we pity, the ones we don’t let our kids play with, the ones bad things happen to, the ones we don’t want living next door.”

146

491 reads

16. “We cannot selectively numb emotions. When we numb the painful emotions, we also numb the positive emotions.”

138

544 reads

17. “The dark does not destroy the light; it defines it. It’s our fear of the dark that casts our joy into the shadows.”

143

532 reads

18. “Understanding the difference between healthy striving and perfectionism is critical to laying down the shield and picking up your life. Research shows that perfectionism hampers success. In fact, it’s often the path to depression, anxiety, addiction, and life paralysis.”

145

485 reads

19. “Faith is a place of mystery, where we find the courage to believe in what we cannot see and the strength to let go of our fear of uncertainty.”

137

467 reads

20. “Perfectionism is a self destructive and addictive belief system that fuels this primary thought: If I look perfect, and do everything perfectly, I can avoid or minimize the painful feelings of shame, judgment, and blame.”

142

460 reads

21. “If we can share our story with someone who responds with empathy and understanding, shame can’t survive.”

133

476 reads

22. “When I look at narcissism through the vulnerability lens, I see the shame-based fear of being ordinary. I see the fear of never feeling extraordinary enough to be noticed, to be lovable, to belong, or to cultivate a sense of purpose.”

135

427 reads

23. “What we know matters but who we are matters more.”

138

423 reads

24. “The willingness to show up changes us, It makes us a little braver each time.”

136

441 reads

25. “Numb the dark and you numb the light.”

133

371 reads

26. “Compassionate people ask for what they need. They say no when they need to, and when they say yes, they mean it. They’re compassionate because their boundaries keep them out of resentment.”

142

419 reads

27. “Vulnerability is not winning or losing; it’s having the courage to show up and be seen when we have no control over the outcome. Vulnerability is not weakness; it’s our greatest measure of courage.”

139

399 reads

27. “Vulnerability is not winning or losing; it’s having the courage to show up and be seen when we have no control over the outcome. Vulnerability is not weakness; it’s our greatest measure of courage.”

132

353 reads

28. “Just because someone isn’t willing or able to love us, it doesn’t mean that we are unlovable.”

134

414 reads

29. “There are too many people today who instead of feeling hurt are acting out their hurt; instead of acknowledging pain, they’re inflicting pain on others. Rather than risking feeling disappointed, they’re choosing to live disappointed. Emotional stoicism is not badassery. Blustery posturing is not badassery. Swagger is not badassery. Perfection is about the furthest thing in the world from badassery.”

135

401 reads

30. “Integrity is choosing courage over comfort; choosing what is right over what is fun, fast, or easy; and choosing to practice our values rather than simply professing them.”

143

404 reads

31. “Stop walking through the world looking for confirmation that you don’t belong. You will always find it because you’ve made that your mission. Stop scouring people’s faces for evidence that you’re not enough. You will always find it because you’ve made that your goal. True belonging and self-worth are not goods; we don’t negotiate their value with the world. The truth about who we are lives in our hearts. Our call to courage is to protect our wild heart against constant evaluation, especially our own. No one belongs here more than you.”

142

368 reads

33. “People often silence themselves, or ‘agree to disagree’ without fully exploring the actual nature of the disagreement, for the sake of protecting a relationship and maintaining connection. But when we avoid certain conversations, and never fully learn how the other person feels about all of the issues, we sometimes end up making assumptions that not only perpetuate but deepen misunderstandings, and that can generate resentment.”

134

377 reads

34. “You are only free when you realize you belong no place — you belong every place — no place at all. The price is high. The reward is great.”

135

382 reads

35. “But what we know now is that when we deny our emotion, it owns us. When we own our emotion, we can rebuild and find our way through the pain.”

134

370 reads

36. “I define a leader as anyone who takes responsibility for finding the potential in people and processes, and who has the courage to develop that potential.”

139

370 reads

37. “At the end of the day, at the end of the week, at the end of my life, I want to say I contributed more than I criticized.”

138

355 reads

38. “Clear is kind. Unclear is unkind.”

133

325 reads

39. “If you are not in the arena getting your ass kicked on occasion, I’m not interested in or open to your feedback. There are a million cheap seats in the world today filled with people who will never be brave with their lives but who will spend every ounce of energy they have hurling advice and judgment at those who dare greatly. Their only contributions are criticism, cynicism, and fearmongering. If you’re criticizing from a place where you’re not also putting yourself on the line, I’m not interested in what you have to say.

138

346 reads

40. “Show up for people in pain and don’t look away.”

134

343 reads

41. “Avoidance will make you feel less vulnerable in the short run, but it will never make you less afraid.”

139

369 reads

42. “Science is not the truth. Science is finding the truth. When science changes its opinion, it didn’t lie to you. It learned more.”

138

354 reads

43. “I am responsible for holding you accountable in a respectful and productive way. I’m not responsible for your emotional reaction to that accountability.”

139

358 reads

44. “Good friends aren’t afraid of your light. They never blow out your flame and you don’t blow out theirs — even when it’s really bright and it makes you worry about your own flame.”

135

349 reads

45. “People will do almost anything to not feel pain, including causing pain and abusing power.”

137

368 reads

IDEAS CURATED BY

tomjoad

Introverted Extravert

CURATOR'S NOTE

Top 45 Best Quotes by Brene Brown

Tom Joad's ideas are part of this journey:

How To Be Effortlessly Charismatic

Learn more about motivationandinspiration with this collection

How to build confidence

How to connect with people on a deeper level

How to create a positive first impression

Related collections

Read & Learn

20x Faster

without
deepstash

with
deepstash

with

deepstash

Personalized microlearning

100+ Learning Journeys

Access to 200,000+ ideas

Access to the mobile app

Unlimited idea saving

Unlimited history

Unlimited listening to ideas

Downloading & offline access

Supercharge your mind with one idea per day

Enter your email and spend 1 minute every day to learn something new.

Email

I agree to receive email updates