The Gifts of Imperfection

A few months back my dear friend Kim Butcher was sharing some great stuff with me from a book she was reading, and for several days it continued to tug at my heart. I asked what the name of the book was so I could get it and read it for myself, then I made a trip to Barnes and Noble and picked up The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene' Brown. I started reading it immediately and was instantly floored by the powerful words of wisdom that the author was sharing. I think it was especially profound because the focus of the book is exactly what the Lord has been working on in my heart for a couple years now. It was as if this woman whom I had never met knew my heart, my desires, my struggles, my fears and, wanted to help me change my life in a significant way.

The sub title to the book is: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are...I mean, come on! That's like my life struggle summed up in one sentence. I was so excited to dive in and get as much as I possibly could out of this gem of a book...let the embracing begin!

The book isn't terribly long, about 130 pages, so I thought I would breeze right through it. Not so much. It took me a lot longer than I thought it would, mainly because there were so many wonderful bits and pieces that I had to digest. I would read a section and be blown away, put the book down, take a few days to process what I read, then come back and read the next section.

There is so much I want to share about this book because it had such an affect on my life. I will keep it simple though and say that if you feel that your life isn't everything you think it could be...READ THIS BOOK. And I will also leave you with a few of my favorite quotes so that you can get a feel for what some of the content is.

"If we want to live and love with our whole hearts, and if we want to engage with the world from a place of worthiness, we have to talk about the things that get in the way - especially shame, fear, and vulnerability." - Brene' Brown

"If we want to fully experience love and belonging, we must believe that we are worthy of love and belonging." - Brene' Brown

"We don't change, we don't grow, and we don't move forward without the work. If we really want to live a joyful, connected, and meaningful life, we must talk about the things that get in the way" -Brene' Brown 

"Courage is telling our story, not being immune to criticism. Staying vulnerable is a risk we have to take if we want to experience connection" - Brene' Brown

"Self-doubt undermines the process of finding our gifts and sharing them with the world...self-doubt is letting our fear undermine our faith." - Brene' Brown

"Authenticity is a collection of choices that we have to make every day. It's about the choice to show up and be real. The choice to be honest. The choice to let our true selves be seen." - Brene' Brown