Authenticity

‎"Our lives improve only when we take chances - 

and the first and most difficult risk we can take is 

to be honest with ourselves."
~Walter Anderson

Brene Brown, social worker/researcher, has devoted her career to studying shame.  Her focus has been on how shame works, why it is so debilitating and how we develop shame resilience.  As she researched these issues, she found that she was being pulled to answer deeper questions like:  -What truly important experiences, emotions, or qualities are we missing when we don't understand shame or when we don't develop shame resilience?  and -How do our lives change when we stop living in shame, fear, and disconnection, and start living with courage, compassion and connection?

What emerged for Brown, as a result of asking these questions, was the idea that our deepest search is for a life lived with three elements:  1. authenticity  2. love/belonging  and 3. a resilient spirit.  She coined the term "WholeHearted living", for this honest way of living.  

Brown says that choosing authenticity means taking these actions:

• cultivating the courage to be emotionally honest, to set boundaries, and to allow ourselves to be vulnerable
• exercising the compassion that comes from knowing that we are all made of strength and struggle and are connected to each other through a loving and resilient human spirit
• nurturing the connection and sense of belonging that can only happen when we let go of what we are supposed to be and embrace who we are

Authenticity, according to Brown, demands "WholeHearted living" and loving-even when it's hard, when we're wrestling with the shame and fear of not being good enough, and especially when the joy is so intense that we're afraid to let ourselves feel it.  

Pretty potent and powerful stuff, don't you think?