I'm probably the last person to the party on this, but have you heard of Brené Brown?
I'm in therapy for the first time in my life, and before we broke for the holidays my new therapist recommended I watch Brown's 2009 TED Talk, though she didn't say why. I don't even remember what we were talking about, just that my therapist gave this mysterious little chuckle and said, "Yep. You're going to like Brené Brown."
So while I was sick a few days later I pulled up Brown's TED Talk on YouTube, and dang. Funny, fascinating, poignant - I identified so strongly with Brown's line at the 13 minutes mark about "just needing some strategies" that I wondered why people in the audience were laughing. In fact, I'm still kind of wondering... so I guess that's why my therapist thought of me? Ha!
Here's her talk, definitely give it a watch when you have 20 minutes:
I will say this is way too short, because after I watched it I was like, "No no no, hang on, I need you to say more words, Brene." So I went looking for more.
Through the comments I learned she'd just released a Netflix special last April, called The Call to Courage. So I zipped over there and watched all of that. It's hard to describe, but it sort of feels like a stand-up comedian doling out heavy-hitting heart advice. Brené is that real, that funny, and often that profound. You should watch that 2009 TED talk first, though, since she references it heavily.
If you don't have Netflix, you can also watch Brown's follow-up 2012 TED talk, Listening to Shame. It covers some of the same topics as the special, though of course it's much shorter and not as in-depth.
I want to watch all of these again with John, since it's a lot to digest. I'm also currently being overwhelmed by the sheer number of Brené Brown books on Amazon. Egadz, so many. Have any of you read her books? Any recommendations?
This is one of her older titles, but as a perfectionist, I could probably use whatever she has to say in it:
Again, if any of you have read it, I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Daring Greatly actually changed my life, though I felt it got repetitive by the end and I didn't finish it. Same with her most recent book. Not sure if she ends up a little short on content for the book contracts and has to fill some extra chapters. Nonetheless highly recommend Daring Greatly, but don't feel like you need to finish it once you've got the main ideas.
ReplyDeleteCompletely agree with all of this!
DeleteI've read The Gifts of Imperfection and it really helped me understand my limits, as well as alter my perspective on my abilities, most notably how to highlight my strengths and take on challenges that fit those strengths. For years, I tried to the be best daughter, the best student, the best employee, the best friend; I was just setting myself up for a complete breakdown. This book was paramount in helping me understand that we need to care for ourselves and embrace the imperfections. Once we do that, we can better tackle the world :D I highly recommend giving this book your attention, it's a short read, a max of a day for a slow reading pace! Best of luck with your mental health journey, you got this!
ReplyDeleteThat's good to know it's a relatively quick read; I've slogged through self-help books in the past that felt wayyy too long, ha.
DeleteHey! I just stumbled across your blog looking for something to make for my cats who are getting spayed on Tuesday. THANK YOU for the old tshirt idea!! Tackling that tomorrow :)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I'm not the only one who feels late to the Brene Brown party. I just discovered her this past summer. Audible has a seminar of hers called The Power of Vulnerability. If you can listen to it, do! It's amazing...hearing her talk is always fun. The seminar combines most of the ideas in her first 3 or 4 books, which makes it efficient, too.
I recently watched the TED talk and read a sample of Daring Greatly, which is the one that was recommended to me. I plan to get it to read the whole thing.
ReplyDeleteLove her! My library uses the Hoopla app and there are some talks and audiobooks available there. She has also been a guest on a few podcasts I listen to...so you could find her that way too :-)
ReplyDeleteYes! Huge fan of Brene Brown. Gifts of imperfection was recommended to me by my therapist. Many of her books are geared towards CEO's, so talk to your counselor and get her recommendations. Also- Congratulations on going to counseling! I hope it helps.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting this. I emailed the talk to my husband so he can see it too. I am this close to sending it to my boss.
ReplyDeleteSo, I just took a training at work, "Dare to Lead" which is created/licensed by her. It was fascinating. And definitely helpful as a very Type-A person who is in a manager role :) Glad you were able to find her and that it was helpful! Also, congrats on the courage to take the therapy step. It's a hard one to make, and I'm trying to talk myself back into it again.
ReplyDeleteI listened to the audiobook of the Gifts of Imperfection and it changed me. So many "Aha!" Moments as I listened, and I love that it give concrete ideas to change your behavior. It's one of those books I can see myself listening to over and over again and getting different things out of it each time. I just got the rest of her audiobooks and I can't wait to listen.
ReplyDeleteI love Brene. She is so real and authentic. Her books are fantastic but I love seeing her speak. She has such a spark when she's speaking.
ReplyDeleteI adore Brene Brown. Her YouTube video on empathy is superb; I use it to teach my students about what empathy really means. 'Braving the Wilderness' is wonderful as is 'Dare to Lead' both have helped me in my life as person and as a leader at work. If you are in to audio books as I am, She narrates her work and it is lovely, lovely.
ReplyDeleteAll of Brené's stuff is gold. I especially found Rising Strong helpful (and probably the most accessible of her books). I quote Brené all the time in my personal life and in the classes I teach. So glad you found her!
ReplyDeleteI've read them all and honestly, there are good take aways from each of them. You will be happy you read them :)
ReplyDeleteJUST this morning I heard Brene Brown talking with Krista Tippet this morning on the radio, on Krista's show "On Being." It was a really interesting conversation. You can find the show on the On Being podcast or on your public radio station.
ReplyDeleteShe has a full length special that aired on Netflix last year also. Not sure if it's still available. But she is fantastic!
ReplyDeleteSuch a great TED talk. Glad you found it.
ReplyDeleteSo here's the weird thing. I watched a video on YouTube about a horse who's bridal broke during a competition and finished the competition with no bridal. Because of that, YT thought I liked horse videos and recommended Warwick Schiller. He's an Australian cowboy/horse trainer. I saw his video "Change Yourself to Change Your Horse". He mentions Brene Brown :) (After watching 40 of his videos, YT now thinks I like horse videos. They have no idea I'm only here for the psychology :)
ReplyDeleteAnyway, now that you mentioned her too, I took it as a sign from the universe and watched the Ted Talk and am now looking at the books :) Thank you!
they laughed because she walked into a therapists and said that she had a vulnerability problem but didn't want any of that therapy sh*t, she just needed some strategies. She demonstrated her problem by explaining why she didn't have one, and we laugh at absurd and uncomfortable situations as a kind of self-soothing, like a cat purring. they weren't telling her that she was being funny so much as saying "oh no! I know where this is going and it's going to be uncomfortable for you, but that's okay because we know that you're going to turn out alright"
ReplyDeleteHo-lee crap. I've been dealing with a LOT mentally, and I didn't know I needed to see this. But wow. And yeah, that I NEED SOME STRATEGIES bit. I have said variations of that over and over and over.
ReplyDeleteI love Brene, welcome to the party! She was on Russell Brand's podcast and their conversation on people doing the best they can was transformative for me.
ReplyDeleteI love, love, love Brene Brown! I second the recommendation to check out the Power of Vulnerability on Audible. I own all of her books either in paperback or on Audible. My favorites are The Gifts of Imperfection and Braving the Wilderness (<-- That one on audio is terrific). I had to drop therapy for a while due to finances, but when I go back, I'm planning on asking my therapist if we can work through the chapters of one of her books (not sure which one yet - probably Gifts) and work on some of the things that I am less confident in. I think her work is great to help you really dig down and know yourself. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteBiggest congrats on starting therapy! And on taking a therapist's recommendation on so quickly! That's awesome and huge. Hope it's meaningful and exciting and worthwhile for you!
ReplyDeleteI watched this video a couple of days after you posted it, then the next week, my therapist asked me if I'd ever heard of her - I laughed and went "weeeelllll". Then I watched the Netflix special the next week, and last week I watched both of them again. This stuff is awesome.
ReplyDeleteIn case anyone is interested, I saw that she has a new podcast called "Unlocking Us". There's only an introduction episode right now, but hopefully there will be more soon.
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