The greatest revolution of our generation is the discovery that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives.
Learned helplessness is the giving-up reaction, the quitting response that follows from the belief that whatever you do doesn’t matter.
Daring greatly means the courage to be vulnerable. It means to show up and be seen. To ask for what you need. To talk about how you’re feeling. To have the hard conversations.
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.
Those who have a strong sense of love and belonging have the courage to be imperfect.
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.
If we can share our story with someone who responds with empathy and understanding, shame can’t survive.
You are imperfect, you are wired for struggle, but you are worthy of love and belonging.
When perfectionism is driving us, shame is riding shotgun and fear is that annoying backseat driver!
Talk to yourself like you would to someone you love.
If you trade your authenticity for safety, you may experience the following: anxiety, depression, eating disorders, addiction, rage, blame, resentment, and inexplicable grief.
Perfectionism is a twenty-ton shield that we lug around thinking it will protect us when, in fact, it’s the thing that’s really preventing us from taking flight.
Believing that you’re enough is what gives you the courage to be authentic.
We are hardwired to connect with others, it’s what gives purpose and meaning to our lives, and without it there is suffering.
If you put shame in a petri dish, it needs three ingredients to grow exponentially: secrecy, silence, and judgment. If you put the same amount of shame in the petri dish and douse it with empathy, it can’t survive.
Vulnerability is the core of shame and fear and our struggle for worthiness, but it appears that it’s also the birthplace of joy, of creativity, of belonging, of love.
Connection, the ability to feel connected, is neurobiologically wired, that’s why we’re here!
When we deny our stories, They define us. When we own our stories, we get to write the ending.
Vulnerability is the core, the heart, the center, of meaningful human experience.
Empathy fuels connection; sympathy drives disconnection.