If you’re thinking, ‘Great! I just need to be a superhero to fight perfectionism,’ I understand. Courage, compassion, and connection seem like big, lofty ideals. But in reality, they are daily practices that, when exercised...

Those who have a strong sense of love and belonging have the courage to be imperfect.

[I] never talk about gratitude and joy separately, for this reason. In 12 years, I’ve never interviewed a single person who would describe their lives as joyful, who would describe themselves as joyous, who was...

One of the greatest barriers to connection is the cultural importance we place on “going it alone.” Somehow we’ve come to equate success with not needing anyone. Many of us are willing to extend a...

We cannot grow when we are in shame, and we can’t use shame to change ourselves or others.

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.

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. In terms of teaching our children to dare greatly...

Even to me the issue of “stay small, sweet, quiet, and modest” sounds like an outdated problem, but the truth is that women still run into those demands whenever we find and use our voices.

Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it. Embracing our vulnerabilities is risky but not nearly as dangerous as giving up on love and belonging...

Numb the dark and you numb the light.

Shame corrodes the very part of us that believes we are capable of change.

Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change.

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...

Heroics is often about putting our life on the line. Ordinary courage is about putting our vulnerability on the line. In today’s world, that’s pretty extraordinary.

…research tells us that we judge people in areas where we’re vulnerable to shame, especially picking folks who are doing worse than we’re doing. If I feel good about my parenting, I have no interest...

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...

If we don’t allow ourselves to experience joy and love, we will definitely miss out on filling our reservoir with what we need when. . . . hard things happen.

Our stories are not meant for everyone. Hearing them is a privilege, and we should always ask ourselves this before we share: “Who has earned the right to hear my story?” If we have one...

Another great example of the power of vulnerability — this time in a corporation — is the leadership approach taken by Lululemon’s CEO, Christine Day. In a video interview with CNN Money, Day explained that...

What separates privilege from entitlement is gratitude.

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...

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...