The Gifts Of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are Paperback – 11 Jan. 2018

Love Brene Brown and been toying to get this book for ages because imperfection etc all came back up. This book I'm only half way through but I let it seep in and learn on the go. Her insights made me have so many aha moments and I love that she encourages you to write things at the back of the book, things you like, quotes, things you want to find more of... That's super helpful because beforehand I just had thousands of bookmarks in a book but it stays fragmented or let's say I forget what's in it. When I pick other books up I actually started this process the same and yes it takes longer but if feels like it seeps in more and I retain information and learn better this way.

What a fabulous book! Amazon did not fail to deliver on time and well packaged. This was recommended to me by a friend who had seen this lady on Oprah Winfrey Show. I have been teaching for a short time 'Life Tools' to older women who are looking to progress in their lives. All our messages through being young women are that we are never quite good enough, whether you are mum; a wife; a career woman or just trying to be you. And what is wrong with that? Ditch the labels. All women seem to put so much pressure on themselves to be the person others want to see. This book enlightens the soul and accept our imperfections, which believe me is part of our journey. This is what we all talk about rather than our destination. Always! I do recommend this book to all my ladies and to you the Amazon reader and salute the writer Brene Brown for having the guts to face up to her own issues in order to write this. We are perfectly imperfect and you will not be disappointed as the language was written for all. Please mum's give this to your teenage sons and daughters, so that they do not fall into lifestyle traps.

I decided to read this book to start addressing my low self-esteem, self-worth and self-acceptance. I would say that this book is a good place to start, simple and easy to read, and is full of good reminders and a few practical personal tips. It is quite amazing that it took BB so many years to figure out what the Wholehearted living consisted of, but then everything looks painfully simple when the hard work is done. When you start learning a new language, the first level is called A1, and that is where I would put this book. You get the basics and then you can build on them using other books and tools.

I think this book is about finding courage. Courage to be your true authentic self. To discover what has been preventing you from allowing yourself to be just that. Courage to start believing that in order to feel joy in our lives, we have to let go of the belief that says that we're not worthy of love of belonging. Or a belief that says we have to hustle for it and fit in.If we don't do that we simply betray our soul. Which often causes us to suffer.Living authentically is not easy in today's culture. When you start doing it - you will start annoying some people in your life. Practicing vulnerability is not easy either. We need to be careful who we share our stories with.By staying compassionate and connected towards/with ourselves we stay connected. Connected to thing called life. We accept ourselves fully. And that's difficult. That's because it will involve setting boundaries and holding others accountable for their behaviour.And what often prevents us from doing all the above ? Shame. A fear that we're unlovable. But the good news is, that we're all capable of developing shame resilience. We have to realize that it's important to talk about it. It's important to respond to shame. If we don't, it will just keep growing, making us miserable and inauthentic.Choosing authenticity is not easy. But it's important to recognise which areas in our lifes we can practice letting go of who we think we're supposed to be and embracing who we are. Areas such as relationships, parenting, work, friendships, hobbies and play time.Being real can feel risky. But I think there's even greater risk: hiding yourself and your gifts from the world.We also have to let go of perfectionism. It exists on a continuum and we all have it to some degree. It often stops us from succeeding in life. It may lead to depression, anxiety and addiction. We often think that perfectionism will protect us, whereas in fact it stops us from being seen.Nobody is perfect. We all have "cracks". And when we're able to stop hiding them, this is where our "light" can come through. In a beautiful, authentic, imperfect way.In summary, this book reminded me of why we're here: to connect with one another, with the world, with our passions. Through vulnerability and courage. So as a result we can connect with:our true selves ❤️

Another classic book from Brené Brown

I find Brené’s work fascinating. Really valuable, really pertinent, and in many ways empowering.I found her writing style to be too much of a mix between personal spoken colloquial description of experience and attempt at justifying the professionalism and the science. Without fully explaining the science.I do get that it’s about conveying the main ideas to the mass audience and those with deeper interest will go and research. I just find it sometimes a hard sell about the grounded theory approach and a seeming lack of awareness that there is researcher bias and ‘here’s how mine plays out’. It feels too preachy and takes away from the message which is the research.I’ll continue to read the research but not the books.