Daring Greatly – A Must Read

I have been reading Daring Greatly by Brene’ Brown.  I love this book!  I keep reading parts over and over again.  I am recommending a book I have not finished reading yet.  If you want to learn how to live fully, or if you live fully and then don’t, this book is for you.  If you struggle with needing to be perfect and feel shame when you fall short; read Daring Greatly.

Brown speaks of wholehearted living.  I know it when I am living it, and I know when I am not living it.  She describes 10 guideposts for Wholehearted living.

  1. Cultivating Authenticity: Letting Go of What People Think
  2. Cultivating Self-Compassion: Letting Go of Perfectionism
  3. Cultivating a Resilient Spirit: Letting Go of Numbing and Powerlessness
  4.  Cultivating Gratitude and Joy: Letting Go of Scarcity or Fear of the Dark
  5. Cultivating Intuition and Trusting Faith: Letting Go of the Need for Certainty
  6. Cultivating Creativity: Letting Go of Comparison
  7. Cultivating Play and Rest: Letting Go of Exhaustion as a Status Symbol and Productivity as Self Worth
  8. Cultivating Calm and Stillness: Letting Go of Anxiety as a Lifestyle
  9. Cultivating Meaningful Work: Letting Go of Self-Doubt  and “Supposed to”
  10. Cultivating Laughter, Song and Dance: Letting Go of Being Cool and of “Always in Control”

I struggle with many of the guideposts.  I sometimes worry about what people think.  With starting a new job, I realize that I am feeling vulnerable and want to be liked and respected.  In the aspect of numbing, I see the connection Brown makes that when you try and numb or dull difficult feelings, you are also stunting your joy, love, and other positive emotions.  You can’t numb one side without numbing the other side.  One of my most obvious struggles right now is Cultivating Play and Rest.  I have had 7 days off in 2 months.  Three of the days were my Birthday, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.  But I am Cultivating Meaningful Work!  I constantly battle with myself in keeping a balance of Work, Rest and Play.

If you do not have time to read Daring Greatly, you can see Brene’ Brown on You Tube. I love that living fully is possible with dedication and practice.  The people that live fully are no better than the people that don’t live fully.  The difference is that they intentionally do the work and take risks.  They even fall flat on their face, but they always get back up and start again.    

If you want to work on living more fully, give Mantis a call.