When we fail to set boundaries and hold people accountable, we feel used and mistreated. This is why we sometimes attack who they are, which is far more hurtful than addressing a behavior or a choice.
Bren BrownRead
Vulnerability is based on mutuality and requires boundaries and trust. It's not oversharing, it's not purging, it's not indiscriminate disclosure, and it's not celebrity-style social media information dumps. Vulnerability is about sharing our feelings and our experiences with people who have earned the right to hear them.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Vulnerability involves sharing personal feelings with trustworthy individuals rather than oversharing indiscriminately.
Brené Brown emphasizes that true vulnerability stems from a foundation of mutual trust and respect, where personal experiences and emotions are shared intentionally with those who genuinely deserve to hear them. It contrasts with the idea of indiscriminate sharing often seen on social media, underlining the need for boundaries and careful consideration of whom we open up to.
Themes
VulnerabilityTrustRelationshipsBoundariesCommunication
In practice
Example use cases
During a workshop on emotional intelligence, the facilitator used this quote to discuss the importance of vulnerability in building authentic connections.
More from Bren Brown
All quotes →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.
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Social media has given us this idea that we should all have a posse of friends when in reality, if we have one or two really good friends, we are lucky.
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What we know matters but who we are matters more.
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Authenticity is the daily practice of letting go of who we think we're supposed to be and embracing who we are.
Bren BrownRead
Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change.
Bren BrownRead
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