110+ Brené Brown Quotes (Empowering, Insightful And Inspiring)

Brené Brown is a research professor at the University of Houston, a best-selling author, and a public speaker. She is best known for her work on topics such as vulnerability, courage, shame, and empathy. Her books, including Daring Greatly and The Gifts of Imperfection, have been translated into over 30 languages.

Top 10 Brené Brown Quotes

1. Authenticity is the daily practice of letting go of who we think we're supposed to be and embracing who we are.
2. Don't try to win over the haters; you are not a jackass whisperer.
3. Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light.
4. Vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage. Truth and courage aren't always comfortable, but they're never weakness.
5. Daring greatly means the courage to be vulnerable. It means to show up and be seen. To ask for what you need. To talk about how you're feeling. To have the hard conversations.
6. What makes you vulnerable makes you beautiful.
7. Believing that you're enough is what gives you the courage to be authentic.
8. Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change.
9. Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it.
10. You are imperfect, you are wired for struggle, but you are worthy of love and belonging.

Brené Brown Image Quotes

Believing that you're enough is what gives you the courage to be authentic. — Brené Brown

Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change. — Brené Brown

You can't get to courage without walking through vulnerability. — Brené Brown

Brené Brown Short Quotes

• You can't get to courage without walking through vulnerability.
• Shame derives its power from being unspeakable.
• Imperfections are not inadequacies; they are reminders that we're all in this together.
• Our sense of belonging can never be greater than our level of self acceptance.
• What separates privilege from entitlement is gratitude.
• I believe in the healing power of laughter. I believe laughter forces us to breathe.
• We're a nation hungry for more joy: Because we're starving from a lack of gratitude.
• The willingness to show up changes us, It makes us a little braver each time.
• Shame is the most powerful, master emotion. It's the fear that we're not good enough.
• Courage starts with showing up and letting ourselves be seen.

Brené Brown Famous Quotes And Sayings

People may call what happens at midlife 'a crisis,' but it's not. It's an unraveling - a time when you feel a desperate pull to live the life you want to live, not the one you're 'supposed' to live. The unraveling is a time when you are challenged by the universe to let go of who you think you are supposed to be and to embrace who you are. — Brené Brown

We live in a world where most people still subscribe to the belief that shame is a good tool for keeping people in line. Not only is this wrong, but it’s dangerous. Shame is highly correlated with addiction, violence, aggression, depression, eating disorders, and bullying. — Brené Brown

I define connection as the energy that exists between people when they feel seen, heard, and valued; when they can give and receive without judgment; and when they derive sustenance and strength from the relationship. — Brené Brown

Believing that you're enough is what gives you the courage to be authentic. — Brené Brown

Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change. — Brené Brown

One of the most painfully inauthentic ways we show up in our lives sometimes is saying "yes" when we mean "no," and saying "no" when we mean "hell yes." — Brené Brown

Let ourselves be seen, deeply seen, vulnerably seen, to love with our whole hearts, even though there's no guarantee... to practice gratitude and joy in those moments of terror, to be this vulnerable means that we’re alive. — Brené Brown

Self-compassion is key because when we're able to be gentle with ourselves in the midst of shame, we're more likely to reach out, connect, and experience empathy. — Brené Brown

We cannot selectively numb emotions, when we numb the painful emotions, we also numb the positive emotions. — Brené Brown

Perfectionism is a self destructive and addictive belief system that fuels this primary thought: If I look perfect, and do everything perfectly, I can avoid or minimize the painful feelings of shame, judgment, and blame. — Brené Brown

I can't be paralyzed anymore by the critics. My new mantra is, if you're not in the arena getting your ass kicked on occasion, then I'm not interested in your feedback. You don't get to sit in the cheat seat and criticize my appearance or my work with mean-spiritedness if you're also not in the arena. — Brené Brown

We are hardwired to connect with others, it's what gives purpose and meaning to our lives, and without it there is suffering. — Brené Brown

Daring to set boundaries is about having the courage to love ourselves, even when we risk disappointing others. — Brené Brown

If we can share our story with someone who responds with empathy and understanding, shame can't survive. — Brené Brown

Every single person has a story that will break your heart. And if you're paying attention, many people... have a story that will bring you to your knees. Nobody rides for free. — Brené Brown

Healthy striving is self-focused: "How can I improve?" Perfectionism is other-focused: "What will they think?" — Brené Brown

Wholeheartedness. There are many tenets of Wholeheartedness, but at its very core is vulnerability and worthiness; facing uncertainty, exposure, and emotional risks, and knowing that I am enough. — Brené Brown

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. — Brené Brown

When perfectionism is driving us, shame is riding shotgun and fear is that annoying backseat driver! — Brené Brown

If you trade your authenticity for safety, you may experience the following: anxiety, depression, eating disorders, addiction, rage, blame, resentment, and inexplicable grief. — Brené Brown

Until we can receive with an open heart, we're never really giving with an open heart. When we attach judgment to receiving help, we knowingly or unknowingly attach judgment to giving help. — Brené Brown

Because true belonging only happens when we present our authentic, imperfect selves to the world, our sense of belonging can never be greater than our level of self-acceptance. — Brené Brown

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. Practicing spirituality brings a sense of perspective, meaning and purpose to our lives. — Brené Brown

If we want to make meaning, we need to make art. Cook, write, draw, doodle, paint, scrapbook, take pictures, collage, knit, rebuild an engine, sculpt, dance, decorate, act, sing - it doesn't matter. As long as we're creating, we're cultivating meaning. — Brené Brown

Talk to yourself like you would to someone you love. — Brené Brown

Let go of who you think you're supposed to be and embrace who you are. — Brené Brown

Love is a connection that can only be cultivated between two people when it exists within each one of them - we can only love others as much as we love ourselves. — Brené Brown

You either walk inside your story and own it or you stand outside your story and hustle for your worthiness. — Brené Brown

Understanding the difference between healthy striving and perfectionism is critical to laying down the shield and picking up your life. Research shows that perfectionism hampers success. In fact, it's often the path to depression, anxiety, addiction, and life paralysis. — Brené Brown

When I look at narcissism through the vulnerability lens, I see the shame-based fear of being ordinary. I see the fear of never feeling extraordinary enough to be noticed, to be lovable, to belong, or to cultivate a sense of purpose. — Brené Brown

Worthiness doesn't have prerequisites. — Brené Brown

When we lose our tolerance for vulnerability, joy becomes foreboding. — Brené Brown

A good life happens when you stop and are grateful for the ordinary moments that so many of us just steamroll over to try to find those extraordinary moments. — Brené Brown

Vulnerability is not weakness. And that myth is profoundly dangerous.... Vulnerability is the birthplace of connection and the path to the feeling of worthiness. If it doesn't feel vulnerable, the sharing is probably not constructive. — Brené Brown

Numb the dark and you numb the light. — Brené Brown

Even to me the issue of "stay small, sweet, quiet, and modest" sounds like an outdated problem, but the truth is that women still run into those demands whenever we find and use our voices. — Brené Brown

You cannot shame or belittle people into changing their behaviors. — Brené Brown

Wholehearted living is not like trying to reach a destination. It's like walking toward a star in the sky. We never really 'arrive,' but we certainly know that we're heading in the right direction. — Brené Brown

Yes, I am imperfect and vulnerable and sometimes afraid, but that doesn't change the truth that I am also brave and worthy of love and belonging. — Brené Brown

Staying vulnerable is a risk we have to take if we want to experience connection. — Brené Brown

It's not about 'what can I accomplish?' but 'what do I want to accomplish?' Paradigm shift. — Brené Brown

I believe that owning our worthiness is the act of acknowledging that we are sacred. Perhaps embracing vulnerability and overcoming numbing is ultimately about the care and feeding of our spirits — Brené Brown

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 — Brené Brown

Vulnerability is the birthplace of love, belonging, joy, courage, empathy, and creativity. It is the source of hope, empathy, accountability, and authenticity. If we want greater clarity in our purpose or deeper and more meaningful spiritual lives, vulnerability is the path. — Brené Brown

Rather than sitting on the sidelines & hurling judgment & advice, we must dare to show up & let ourselves be seen. This is vulnerability. This is daring greatly. — Brené Brown

If we own the story then we can write the ending. — Brené Brown

Perfectionism is self-destructive simply because there is no such thing as perfect. Perfection is an unattainable goal. Additionally, perfectionism is more about perception - we want to be perceived as perfect. Again, this is unattainable - there is no way to control perception, regardless of how much time and energy we spend trying. — Brené Brown

I only share when I have no unmet needs that I'm trying to fill. I firmly believe that being vulnerable with a larger audience is only a good idea if the healing is tied to the sharing, not to the expectations I might have for the response I get. — Brené Brown

Worrying about scarcity is our culture's version of post-traumatic stress. It happens when we've been through too much, and rather than coming together to heal (which requires vulnerability) we're angry and scared and at each other's throats. — Brené Brown

If you own this story you get to write the ending. — Brené Brown

I wasn't really testing it on myself as much as I was learning from other people about what it meant to live and love with your whole heart, and then thinking, oh my god, I'm not doing that. — Brené Brown

Nostalgia is also a dangerous form of comparison. Think about how often we compare our lives to a memory that nostalgia has so completely edited that it never really existed. — Brené Brown

If we want to be able to move through the difficult disappointments, the hurt feelings, and the heartbreaks that are inevitable in a fully lived life, we can't equate defeat with being unworthy of love, belonging and joy. If we do, we'll never show up and try again. — Brené Brown

Every time we choose courage, we make everyone around us a little better and the world a little braver. And our world could stand to be a little kinder and braver. — Brené Brown

The universe is not short on wake-up calls. We’re just quick to hit the snooze button. — Brené Brown

Vulnerability is not weakness. And that myth is profoundly dangerous... I define vulnerability as emotional risk, exposure, uncertainty. It fuels our daily lives. — Brené Brown

Many people think of perfectionism as striving to be your best, but it is not about self-improvement; it's about earning approval and acceptance. — Brené Brown

Nothing has transformed my life more than realizing that it's a waste of time to evaluate my worthiness by weighing the reaction of the people in the stands. — Brené Brown

There was only one variable that separated the people who have a strong sense of love and belonging and the people who really struggle for it. And that was, the people who have a strong sense of love and belonging believe they're worthy of love and belonging. That's it. They believe they're worthy. — Brené Brown

Here's what is truly at the heart of wholeheartedness: Worthy now, not if, not when, we're worthy of love and belonging now. Right this minute. As is. — Brené Brown

If we share our shame story with the wrong person, they can easily become one more piece of flying debris in an already dangerous storm.(page 10) — Brené Brown

Compassion is not a virtue -- it is a commitment. It's not something we have or don't have -- it's something we choose to practice. — Brené Brown

Living a connected life ultimately is about setting boundaries, spending less time and energy hustling and winning over people who don't matter, and seeing the value of working on cultivating connection with family and close friends. — Brené Brown

Vulnerability is not about winning, and it's not about losing. It's about having the courage to show up and be seen. — Brené Brown

We have to be women we want our daughters to be. — Brené Brown

Nothing is as uncomfortable, dangerous and hurtful as believing that I'm standing on the outside of my life looking in and wondering what it would be like if I had the courage to show up and let myself be seen. — Brené Brown

Our capacity for wholeheartednes s can never be greater than our willingness to be broken-hearted. — Brené Brown

Laughter, song, and dance create emotional and spiritual connection; they remind us of the one thing that truly matters when we are searching for comfort, celebration, inspiration, or healing: We are not alone. — Brené Brown

Hope is not an emotion; it's a way of thinking or a cognitive process. — Brené Brown

If you put shame in a petri dish, it needs three ingredients to grow exponentially: secrecy, silence, and judgment. If you put the same amount of shame in the petri dish and douse it with empathy, it can't survive. — Brené Brown

Vulnerability is about showing up and being seen. It's tough to do that when we're terrified about what people might see or think. — Brené Brown

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. — Brené Brown

Until we can receive with an open heart, we are never really giving with an open heart. — Brené Brown

Guilt is just as powerful, but its influence is positive, while shame's is destructive. Shame erodes our courage and fuels disengagement. — Brené Brown

Joy comes to us in moments--ordina ry moments. We risk missing out on joy when we get too busy chasing down the extraordinary. — Brené Brown

Joy, collected over time, fuels resilience - ensuring we'll have reservoirs of emotional strength when hard things do happen. — Brené Brown

Who we are and how we engage with the world are much stronger predictors of how our children will do than what we know about parenting. — Brené Brown

If we are going to find our way out of shame and back to each other, vulnerability is the path and courage is the light. To set down those lists of *what we're supposed to be* is brave. To love ourselves and support each other in the process of becoming real is perhaps the greatest single act of daring greatly. — Brené Brown

Embracing our vulnerabilities is risky but not nearly as dangerous as giving up on love and belonging and joy. — Brené Brown

I spent a lot of years trying to outrun or outsmart vulnerability by making things certain and definite, black and white, good and bad. My inability to lean into the discomfort of vulnerability limited the fullness of those important experiences that are wrought with uncertainty: love, belonging, trust, joy, and creativity, to name a few. — Brené Brown

If we want greater clarity in our purpose or deeper and more meaningful spiritual lives, vulnerability is the path. — Brené Brown

We cultivate love when we allow our most vulnerable and powerful selves to be deeply seen and known, and when we honor the spiritual connection that grows from that offering with trust, respect, kindness and affection — Brené Brown

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. — Brené Brown

The dark does not destroy the light; it defines it. It's our fear of the dark that casts our joy into the shadows. — Brené Brown

Vulnerability is not knowing victory or defeat, it’s understanding the necessity of both; it’s engaging. It’s being all in. — Brené Brown

I believe a joyful life is made up of joyful moments, gracefully strung together by trust, gratitude, inspiration, and faith. — Brené Brown

Faith minus vulnerability is fundamentalism — Brené Brown

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. — Brené Brown

The only universal language I know of that wraps up joy and gratitude and love is laughter. — Brené Brown

Do you light up when your kids are coming in the room or do you become the instant critic? — Brené Brown

Vulnerability is our most accurate measurement of courage. — Brené Brown

What we know matters, but who we are matters more. Being rather than knowing requires showing up and letting ourselves be seen. It requires us to dare greatly, to be vulnerable. — Brené Brown

Life Lessons by Brené Brown

1. Brené Brown's work emphasizes the importance of vulnerability and self-compassion in order to lead a more meaningful and fulfilling life.
2. She encourages us to be brave and to embrace our imperfections in order to create authentic connections with others.
3. By embracing vulnerability, we can open ourselves up to greater joy and courage in our lives.