Braving the Wilderness

Genre: Personal Development

Book Type: Combination Physical & Audio

Author & Narrator: Brené Brown

Pages / Length: 208 pages / 4 hours and 12 minutes

Publisher: Random House; First Edition (September 12, 2017) / Random House Audio

Book Description:

Social scientist Brené Brown, PhD, LMSW, has sparked a global conversation about the experiences that bring meaning to our lives – experiences of courage, vulnerability, love, belonging, shame, and empathy. In Braving the Wilderness, Brown redefines what it means to truly belong in an age of increased polarization. With her trademark mix of research, storytelling, and honesty, Brown will again change the cultural conversation while mapping a clear path to true belonging.

Brown argues that we’re experiencing a spiritual crisis of disconnection, and introduces four practices of true belonging that challenge everything we believe about ourselves and each other. She writes, “True belonging requires us to believe in and belong to ourselves so fully that we can find sacredness both in being a part of something and in standing alone when necessary. But in a culture that’s rife with perfectionism and pleasing, and with the erosion of civility, it’s easy to stay quiet, hide in our ideological bunkers, or fit in rather than show up as our true selves and brave the wilderness of uncertainty and criticism. But true belonging is not something we negotiate or accomplish with others; it’s a daily practice that demands integrity and authenticity. It’s a personal commitment that we carry in our hearts.” Brown offers us the clarity and courage we need to find our way back to ourselves and to each other. And that path cuts right through the wilderness. Brown writes, “The wilderness is an untamed, unpredictable place of solitude and searching. It is a place as dangerous as it is breathtaking, a place as sought after as it is feared. But it turns out to be the place of true belonging, and it’s the bravest and most sacred place you will ever stand.”

Thoughts:

Oh, #brenebrown, you are a beautiful gift to the world. I loved #risingstrong, but this one is so incredibly needed by people today, and I thank you for sharing it with the world.

I tried my best to include some of the points that really made me think, but to be honest, I have so many tabs in my copy that was hard to do! This book should be taught in schools to give children confidence to embrace themselves, while also highlighting how to accept differences.

Favorite Quotes:

🌲 “I’m doing that thing I do when I’m afraid. I’m floating above my life, watching it and studying it, rather than loving it,” pg 20.

🌲 “True belonging is the spiritual practice of believing in and belonging to yourself so deeply that you can share your most authentic self with the world and find sacredness in both being a part of something and standing alone in the wilderness. True belonging doesn’t require you to change who you are; it requires you to be who you are,” pg 40.

🌲 Definition of “spirituality” from The Gifts of Imperfection: “Spirituality is recognizing and celebrating that we are all inextricably connected to each other by a power greater than all of us, and that our connection to that power and to one another is grounded in love and compassion,” pg 45.

🌲 “I’m not an expert on terrorism, But I’ve studied fear for over 15 years, and here’s what I can tell you: Terrorism is time-released fear. The ultimate goal of both global and domestic terrorism is to conduct strikes that embed fear so deeply in the heart of a community that fear becomes a way of life. This unconscious way of living then fuels so much anger and blame that people start to turn on one another. Terrorism is most effective when we allow fear to take root in our culture. Then it’s only a matter of time before we become fractured, isolated, and driven by our perceptions of scarcity,” pg 56.

🌲Nobel Peace Prize laureate Kailash Satyarthi says in his 2015 TED talk, “Anger is within each one of you, and I will share a secret for a few seconds: that if we are confined to the narrow shells of egos, and the circles of selfishness, then the anger will turn out to be hatred, violence, revenge, destruction. But if we are able to break the circles, then the same anger could turn into a great power. We can break the circles by using our inherent compassion and connect with the world through compassion to make this world better. That same anger could be transformed into it,” of 69.

🌲 “Today we are edging closer and closer to a world where political and ideological discourse has become an exercise in dehumanization. And social media are the primary platforms for our dehumanizing behavior,” pg 74.

🌲 “ I believe, and tell my students, one of the most courageous things to say in an uncomfortable conversation is, ‘Tell me more.’ Exactly when we want to turn away and change the topic, or just and the conversation, or counter, as you say, we also have the opportunity to ask what else we need to know to fully understand the other person’s perspective. Help me understand why this is so important to you, or help me understand why you don’t agree with a particular idea. And then we have to listen. Really listen. Listen to understand, not about agreeing or disagreeing. We have to listen to understand in the same way we want to be understood,” pg 83.

🌲Institute for Civility in Government’s co- founders Cassandra Dahnke and Thomas Spath, write, “Civility Is claiming and caring for one’s identity, needs, and beliefs without degrading someone else’s in the process… [Civility] is about disagreeing without disrespect, seeking common ground as a starting point for dialogue about differences, listening past one’s preconceptions, and teaching others to do the same. Civility is the hard work of staying present with those with whom we have deep-rooted and fierce disagreements. It is political in the sense that it is a necessary prerequisite for civil action. But it is political, too, in the sense that it is about negotiating interpersonal power such as that everyone’s voice is heard, and nobody’s is ignored,” pg 96.

🌲 “[…] So the analogy is, if you work with your mind, instead of trying to change everything on the outside, that’s how your temper will cool down,” pg 119-120.

🌲 “I’ve come to the conclusion that the way we engage with social media is like fire – you can use them to keep yourself warm and nourished, or you can burn down the barn. It all depends on your intentions, expectations, and reality-checking skills,” pg 140.

🌲 “Stop walking through the world looking for confirmation that you don’t belong. You will always find it because you’ve made that your mission. Stop scouring peoples faces for evidence that you’re not enough. You will always find it because you’ve made that your goal. True belonging and self-worth are not goods; we don’t negotiate their value with the world. The truth about who we are lives in our hearts. Our call to courage is to protect our wild heart against constant evaluation especially our own. No one belongs here more than you,” pg 158.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#personaldevelopment #growth #mentalhealth #motivation #mindset #Teaching