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3.69k reviews for:
Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead
Brené Brown
4.24 AVERAGE
3.69k reviews for:
Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead
Brené Brown
4.24 AVERAGE
WOW this book was amazing.
Brene Brown has such a command of language, especially when it comes to navigating the spheres of empathy, shame, guilt, envy, and rage. Coincidentally, I picked this book up from our living room table (sorry for losing your place AG) on the way to a leadership retreat that ended up teaching the way of Brene Brown, and how to lead with empathy.
Some things I took away: humans are hard-wired for connection. That makes so much sense to me. It's why people are more likely to be deradicalized by their romantic partners, like Contrapoints talked about in Incels. (i think?) I really like how Brown focuses on how these universal feelings like shame and guilt affect men and women both.
I spent a long time pretending I could avoid vulnerability under the guise of perfectionism, armored feedback, etc. It really sucks to realize that the version I have set aside for myself is unattainable and perhaps leading me on a path away from empathy, especially when societal expectations add all that pressure. Yes, I would like to bring a measuring stick to a therapist's appointment. Yes, when my first therapist told me I have perfectionistic tendencies, I replied: "Well thank you!" But Brown educates us on how shame is the cause of these behaviors, and perfectionism is an external validation machine, and you can never win.
I just love the way she talks about emotiions, and parses through them, and links them together. I like this paradigm of great scarcity, and how it prevents us from being grateful for all that we have. I like how she describes joy as an effervescent and short-lived feeling, and I am inclined to agree. It definitely feels like a setup. Yes, it feels too good to be true. It's like the Bear: I always feel like I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. And I'm tired of dreading happiness, it's a sick twisted game. "Softening into joyful moment of ours lives requires vulnerability."
I don't like how the latter half of the book uses career accomplishments/aspirations as a measure of success. I definitely can see Brene Brown's audience as a working class middle-aged target that's seeking enlightenment and meaning, so some of those work stories I didn't really resonate with.
But overall, thoroughly enjoyed Daring Greatly and I want to put into practice the vulnerability and softness and openness that Brown talks about. Here's to that!
Brene Brown has such a command of language, especially when it comes to navigating the spheres of empathy, shame, guilt, envy, and rage. Coincidentally, I picked this book up from our living room table (sorry for losing your place AG) on the way to a leadership retreat that ended up teaching the way of Brene Brown, and how to lead with empathy.
Some things I took away: humans are hard-wired for connection. That makes so much sense to me. It's why people are more likely to be deradicalized by their romantic partners, like Contrapoints talked about in Incels. (i think?) I really like how Brown focuses on how these universal feelings like shame and guilt affect men and women both.
I spent a long time pretending I could avoid vulnerability under the guise of perfectionism, armored feedback, etc. It really sucks to realize that the version I have set aside for myself is unattainable and perhaps leading me on a path away from empathy, especially when societal expectations add all that pressure. Yes, I would like to bring a measuring stick to a therapist's appointment. Yes, when my first therapist told me I have perfectionistic tendencies, I replied: "Well thank you!" But Brown educates us on how shame is the cause of these behaviors, and perfectionism is an external validation machine, and you can never win.
I just love the way she talks about emotiions, and parses through them, and links them together. I like this paradigm of great scarcity, and how it prevents us from being grateful for all that we have. I like how she describes joy as an effervescent and short-lived feeling, and I am inclined to agree. It definitely feels like a setup. Yes, it feels too good to be true. It's like the Bear: I always feel like I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. And I'm tired of dreading happiness, it's a sick twisted game. "Softening into joyful moment of ours lives requires vulnerability."
I don't like how the latter half of the book uses career accomplishments/aspirations as a measure of success. I definitely can see Brene Brown's audience as a working class middle-aged target that's seeking enlightenment and meaning, so some of those work stories I didn't really resonate with.
But overall, thoroughly enjoyed Daring Greatly and I want to put into practice the vulnerability and softness and openness that Brown talks about. Here's to that!
Daring Greatly is at the intersection of Brown's work as a serious scholar in the social psychology of vulnerability and shame, useful self-help, and TED talk boosterism; quite literally, Brown parleyed a viral TED talk, when that was a hip thing, into a series of best-sellers, two documentary adaptations, and a business consulting practice.
(if I could add pictures to reviews, I'd definitely put the Cersei SHAME SHAME SHAME walk from Game of Thrones here)
The core of Brown's argument is that wholehearted living, which is all the things like love and connection and creativity and growth, which make life worth living, require working through the walls of shame that we've built up as defenses. A couple of things really hit home for me. The way that masculinity is a box that deforms boys, and that this box is maintained socially by both men and women, seems precisely right. Intimacy is terrifying. The way that parenting often weaponizes shame, to the detriment of both parents and children, strikes me as true as well.
The advice in the book is that everyone feels shame, but people who are living wholehearted believe that they are unconditionally worthy of love. Conditional self-acceptance is poison. Shame is an emotional reaction, and can be countered by noting that you are having a reaction and that everything is fine. Standard CBT/DBT techniques.
Brown has a lot of insights, but I personally have a visceral dislike of MBA speak, and a lot of this book is aimed towards effective business leaders. I'm curious to see her more academic work, the methods section on her use of grounded theory is fascinating.
(if I could add pictures to reviews, I'd definitely put the Cersei SHAME SHAME SHAME walk from Game of Thrones here)
The core of Brown's argument is that wholehearted living, which is all the things like love and connection and creativity and growth, which make life worth living, require working through the walls of shame that we've built up as defenses. A couple of things really hit home for me. The way that masculinity is a box that deforms boys, and that this box is maintained socially by both men and women, seems precisely right. Intimacy is terrifying. The way that parenting often weaponizes shame, to the detriment of both parents and children, strikes me as true as well.
The advice in the book is that everyone feels shame, but people who are living wholehearted believe that they are unconditionally worthy of love. Conditional self-acceptance is poison. Shame is an emotional reaction, and can be countered by noting that you are having a reaction and that everything is fine. Standard CBT/DBT techniques.
Brown has a lot of insights, but I personally have a visceral dislike of MBA speak, and a lot of this book is aimed towards effective business leaders. I'm curious to see her more academic work, the methods section on her use of grounded theory is fascinating.
Very helpful to read if you’re middle management or suffer from imposter syndrome. I am both. I begin most of my professional development seminars with a Brene Brown quote.
A letdown compared to Brene’s Atlas of the Heart. It was a lot less insightful than I was hoping and felt like it could’ve been summarized in 2 main points: everyone should read Theodore Roosevelts ‘Man in the Arena’, and you have to feel vulnerable and embrace vulnerability in order to make real connections in relationships. I probably got the most out of the tidbit on perfectionism so maybe her book ‘the gifts of imperfection’ might be a better fit.
One of my favorites. She talks of vulnerability and how to become close with others by realizing closeness always has risk of getting hurt. I read this book 9 years ago and still think about it today.
This book was recommended to me by a therapist friend. She uses it regularly with her patients. If it works for them I figured I’d give it a go. I feel that this book brought several good points. I liked the idea that shame and the ability to be vulnerable were interconnected. All in all, I’d recommend this book in a heartbeat.
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
slow-paced
5 stars to reflect the reality that everyone needs to understand this content and do their part to nudge generational inertia in the better direction that Brene explains in this book.
4 stars for my ability to walk this walk. It’s often hard to remember in the moment. I think I’ll need to actually reread this one.
4 stars for my ability to walk this walk. It’s often hard to remember in the moment. I think I’ll need to actually reread this one.
The lauding of JK Rowling's writing did not age well. Definitely should've been edited out of Brown cared - but that didn't happen. DNFd
reflective