I’m revisiting Brene Brown’s book Daring Greatly for a short talk I’m doing at Barcamp Philly tomorrow morning. I’m calling the session “Vulnerability Practice“.
I’m going to give a brief overview of the book and share my own story of my journey in to daring to live a more vulnerable life. Then I’m going to open up the room for people to take a chance and be vulnerable. Really, I’m not sure if it will work because the room will be full of strangers. I think it could be a really powerful time, or it could totally bomb and I’ll stand there like a fool – I’m fine either way really.
I’m not expecting people to share their deepest secrets with a group of strangers but my hope is that we can share just enough for us to see that we’re all insecure, we’re all messed up, we all struggle with identity issues and we all wonder if we’re good enough. Hopefully it help empower people just a little bit more to dare to share who they really are with the world around them instead of trying to be whatever or whoever we think that the world needs/wants us to be.
Here’s a short quote from the intro of her book:
Vulnerability is not knowing victory or defeat, it’s understanding the necessity of both; it’s engaging. It’s being all in.
Vulnerability is not weakness, and the uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure we face every day are not optional. Our only choice is a question of engagement. Our willingness to own and engage with our vulnerability determines the depth of our courage and the clarity of our purpose; the level to which we protect ourselves from being vulnerable is a measure of our fear and disconnection.
When we spend our lives waiting until we’re perfect or bulletproof before we walk into the arena, we ultimately sacrifice relationships and opportunities that may not be recoverable, we squander our precious time, and we turn our backs on our gifts, those unique contributions that only we can make.
Perfect and bulletproof are seductive, but they don’t exist in the human experience. We must walk into the arena, whatever it may be— a new relationship, an important meeting, our creative process, or a difficult family conversation— with courage and the willingness to engage. Rather than sitting on the sidelines and hurling judgment and advice, we must dare to show up and let ourselves be seen. This is vulnerability. This is daring greatly.
Hopefully we have a fun little 45 minute session tomorrow. If not, no worries. It’s totally worth the risk.