Vulnerability With Imperfection

I recently finished reading Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown.

POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT

  Rating: 4.25/5 stars

"For over a decade, Brené Brown has found a special place in our hearts as a gifted mapmaker and a fellow traveler. She is both a social scientist and a kitchen-table friend whom you can always count on to tell the truth, make you laugh, and, on occasion, cry with you. And what’s now become a movement all started with The Gifts of Imperfection, which has sold more than two million copies in thirty-five different languages across the globe. 

What transforms this book from words on a page to effective daily practices are the ten guideposts to wholehearted living. The guideposts not only help us understand the practices that will allow us to change our lives and families, they also walk us through the unattainable and sabotaging expectations that get in the way. 

Brené writes, “This book is an invitation to join a wholehearted revolution. A small, quiet, grassroots movement that starts with each of us saying, ‘My story matters because I matter.’ Revolution might sound a little dramatic, but in this world, choosing authenticity and worthiness is an absolute act of resistance.” "

Unraveling wholehearted life guideposts, 10 of them, is unlike any other self-help books but illustrated with Brené’s personal examples of her own stories. Readers get a feel of reading a memoir rather than just getting pointers to improve and reinvent their own lives. The book focuses on the lack of worthiness and shame and using those vulnerable moments for a turning point and breakthrough. 

For someone who always strives for perfection to feel worthy and valuable, following Brené’s struggles with her own lack of worthiness and how she, through her research, to overcome inadequacy is ultimately relatable and authentic. I have seen people around me try to BE all and everything. We want to be great friends, beautiful partners, competent employees, having an accomplished career, amazing parents, and …. filial children. In contrast, playing out those roles as correctly as we endeavor, somehow, feelings of shame or inadequacy mess up our heads. Brené emphasizes individual worthiness even when we don’t become ALL that or be everything we hoped for. It is OK to be vulnerable and be WHO we are. 

I loved the humor interlacing with facts that makes the information easy to follow, relate, and agreeable. Though, be ready for some scratchy but friendly honesties that might poke your pride. A Chinese idiom goes, “A good medicine tastes bitter,” which I think best describes this book.

I’m looking forward to a new mindset as I tread gently into the new chapters in my life, anticipating more inner freedom, more acceptance of myself, and knowing the fact that being imperfect doesn't make one less worthy.

Check out The Gifts of Imperfection, and discover what happens when you truly let yourself be vulnerable.

Happy Reading :)