Brené Brown and Shame, Connection, and Vulnerability

Brené Brown studied connection and came across people’s need to be vulnerable to truly connect  She explained this on a TED talk in Houston.

This is a follow-up Q&A with Brené Brown two years later:

“If you think dealing with issues like worthiness and authenticity and vulnerability are not worthwhile because there are more pressing issues, like the bottom line or attendance or standardized test scores, you are sadly, sadly mistaken. It underpins everything.”

“Well, the idea of “I’m never enough” — beautiful enough, successful enough, thin enough, popular enough, loved enough, worthy enough — that’s shame and scarcity, and I’ve seen people overcome that every single day. I’ve gone through the process myself. I’ve interviewed people over the course of four years who’ve done a lot of this work. You have to understand shame. You have to understand where the message comes from, what drove it, how has it protected you in the past, and are you willing to look it in the eye and say, “Thanks, I appreciate it, but I’m not subscribing anymore …”

 She also did a TED talk on shame-which undercuts the ability to be vulnerable.

And I think she is incredibly courageous.

“Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change.” – Brené Brown