And so do the millions of viewers of her talk on TED.com, titled the ‘Power of Vulnerability.’
For more than 10 years she has been studying vulnerability, courage, shame and authenticity.
According to Brown, the deepest longing for human beings is to feel connected; to feel love and belonging. After interviewing thousands of people, she identified clear patterns of living that brought a deep sense of satisfaction, meaning and connection to people’s lives.
One of the clearest themes was that these ‘wholehearted’ people, as she calls them, were all willing to embrace and show their vulnerability, to show their true selves, to be imperfect in the eyes of themselves and others, and to know that they were worthy, anyway.
These insights lead to the collation of her research into her latest book ‘The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are.’ In this easy to read handbook, Brown has identified the key ingredients to move towards ‘wholehearted living,’ and elaborates on how to cultivate them. Here’s a list of the key themes:
Where are you at in living a ‘wholehearted’ life?