Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead
The #1 New York Times bestseller. More than 2 million copies sold! Look for Brené Brown's new podcast, Dare to Lead, as well as her ongoing podcast Unlocking Us! From thought leader Brené Brown, a transformative new vision for the way we lead, love, work, parent, and educate that teaches us the power of vulnerability. "It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; . . . who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly."--Theodore Roosevelt Every day we experience the uncertainty, risks, and emotional exposure that define what it means to be vulnerable or to dare greatly. Based on twelve years of pioneering research, Brené Brown PhD, MSW, dispels the cultural myth that vulnerability is weakness and argues that it is, in truth, our most accurate measure of courage. Brown explains how vulnerability is both the core of difficult emotions like fear, grief, and disappointment, and the birthplace of love, belonging, joy, empathy, innovation, and creativity. She writes: "When we shut ourselves off from vulnerability, we distance ourselves from the experiences that bring purpose and meaning to our lives." Daring Greatly is not about winning or losing. It's about courage. In a world where "never enough" dominates and feeling afraid has become second nature, vulnerability is subversive. Uncomfortable. It's even a little dangerous at times. And, without question, putting ourselves out there means there's a far greater risk of getting criticized or feeling hurt. But when we step back and examine our lives, we will find that nothing is as uncomfortable, dangerous, and hurtful as standing on the outside of our lives looking in and wondering what it would be like if we had the courage to step into the arena--whether it's a new relationship, an important meeting, the creative process, or a difficult family conversation. Daring Greatly is a practice and a powerful new vision for letting ourselves be seen.
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Community Reviews
Book produced after huge efforts in research. Could read about 50% of the book. Got too much painful for me. Liked author's views and research on shame and how to combat it.
In no way am I a fan or pro-Brene Brown, I find her to lack a humble or modest manner. But I do have to tip my hat that she is wise and inspiring. Between her personal encounters, I found her dissecting vulnerability and shame to be insightful and honest to everyone regardless their experience. It was very well communicated and made an impact in my thoughts on how I would like to change and overcome my mindset. If there is one Brene Brown book to give a chance, I would definitely recommend Daring Greatly.
4/2016: I didn't love it. I wanted to love it. I've been reading a lot of scientific research on mindfulness, self-compassion, self-improvement, and happiness lately, and this just doesn't stand up to a lot of the other material that I've been reading. (If you're curious just look at mindfulness list.) I think that if this were the first or only such book I read I would have appreciated it more.
This one is mostly just about self-compassion and self-love. The way to convince yourself that you are worthy of love is by engaging in courage, compassion, and connection. Hard.
Update 1/2018: I read it again and liked it much better this time. I'm not sure why. Maybe I wasn't considering each of her points separately and completely before. Maybe because I've read more feminist writing since then? Technically, this isn't specifically feminist because she discusses how the same issues of vulnerability, fear, and shame corner men as well, but it still resonates with feminist themes. (And expecting men to act in gender-conforming ways is also part of what feminism opposes.)
I think the abuse at work and schools especially resonated with me.
This one is mostly just about self-compassion and self-love. The way to convince yourself that you are worthy of love is by engaging in courage, compassion, and connection. Hard.
Update 1/2018: I read it again and liked it much better this time. I'm not sure why. Maybe I wasn't considering each of her points separately and completely before. Maybe because I've read more feminist writing since then? Technically, this isn't specifically feminist because she discusses how the same issues of vulnerability, fear, and shame corner men as well, but it still resonates with feminist themes. (And expecting men to act in gender-conforming ways is also part of what feminism opposes.)
I think the abuse at work and schools especially resonated with me.
Brilliant book on the relationship between shame, vulnerability, whole heartedness and daring greatly. Interesting how all this plays out in our childhood, our relationships, how we show up at work and how we raise children. Particularly interested in how it presents differently for men and women. I resonated with a lot of it and acknowledged what a fraught relationship I have with vulnerability. Even typing the word makes me cringe so definitely have to explore that more. Must read id say.
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