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Summary of The Gifts of Imperfection
Short summary
Game-changing New York Times bestseller by Brené Brown that has been sold over 2 million times in over 30 various languages, and Forbes as of late named it one of the “Five Books That Will Actually Change Your Outlook On Life” — in this book we find fight against self-consciousness and paralyzing fear, reinforcing your link with the world. It's life-changing read seeks to help readers turn their weaknesses, limitations, and imperfections into tools for a Wholehearted and meaningful life.
14 min
11 key points
4 insights
Table of content
- Summary of The Gifts of Imperfection
- About the author
- What is The Gifts of Imperfection about?
- Who should read The Gifts of Imperfection
- Topics in The Gifts of Imperfection
first key point
Imperfections are not all bad as they give room for courage, compassion, and connection
Listen the first key point
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The trouble with imperfections is that you mostly feel fear, shame, and unworthiness and it takes a lot to feel otherwise. But once you accept your imperfect state, you open up a door for courage, compassion, and connection to work their magic.
The author singles out these three things as the gifts of imperfection, as they are what will make the walk through life’s imperfections, perfect.
Courage is now popularly believed to mean the driving force for heroics but in its earlier definition, courage is “To speak one’s mind by telling all one’s heart.” Thus, courage is putting your heart out there and risking discrimination or mockery. And no, this doesn’t come easy, it takes a lot of courage to be vulnerable, that’s true heroism.
Compassion describes the ability to feel someone else’s pain and recognize that they equal and you understand what they’re going through. It doesn’t come naturally to us, as we’d rather save ourselves before we stick out our necks for someone else. To be truly compassionate, you must first accept your own struggles, only then can you have empathy for the next person’s. the key to compassion is setting boundaries and holding people accountable.
The connection is defined by the author 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. As humans, we’re designed to yearn connection but it isn’t without its perils. We have so many pseudo versions of connection courtesy of technology, we confuse online for realness. Some of us turn down the connection because we judge ourselves as weak for needing it.
The author singles out these three things as the gifts of imperfection, as they are what will make the walk through life’s imperfections, perfect.
Courage is now popularly believed to mean the driving force for heroics but in its earlier definition, courage is “To speak one’s mind by telling all one’s heart.” Thus, courage is putting your heart out there and risking discrimination or mockery. And no, this doesn’t come easy, it takes a lot of courage to be vulnerable, that’s true heroism.
Compassion describes the ability to feel someone else’s pain and recognize that they equal and you understand what they’re going through. It doesn’t come naturally to us, as we’d rather save ourselves before we stick out our necks for someone else. To be truly compassionate, you must first accept your own struggles, only then can you have empathy for the next person’s. the key to compassion is setting boundaries and holding people accountable.
The connection is defined by the author 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. As humans, we’re designed to yearn connection but it isn’t without its perils. We have so many pseudo versions of connection courtesy of technology, we confuse online for realness. Some of us turn down the connection because we judge ourselves as weak for needing it.
These three tools take practice, lots of it. To fully commit to courage, compassion, and the connection is to look at life and the people around us, and say, “I’m all in.”
second key point
Being authentic is not a walk in the park, opening up your true self to the world takes a lot of courage and bravery
It is often thought that authenticity is simply an attribute a person either had or didn’t. You’d hear people say Mike is a really authentic guy. But the author argues that authenticity is, in fact, a learned habit, something requiring practice.
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third key point
Compassion is a necessary human emotion, but we often forget to show compassion to ourselves
fourth key point
A resilient spirit is difficult to build in a world with so much influencing factors, but it is important to stand strong
fifth key point
A lot of the time we cannot find what to be grateful for or what to be happy about, but joy and gratitude are things that are cultivated, not things that just happen
sixth key point
We are not sure about many things, but it is important to focus on building trust in your intuition, and faith in yourself
seventh key point
Creativity is the greatest form of self-expression and as such, it is a necessary part to cultivate
eighth key point
It is important to learn how to be still and calm, anxiety is the enemy of all your self-growth
ninth key point
It is important to busy yourself with good work that gives you a sense of accomplishment
tenth key point
Learn to laugh, sing, and dance, more often these exercises are a natural way to induce happiness
eleventh key point
Conclusion
What is The Gifts of Imperfection about?
Who should read The Gifts of Imperfection
Topics in The Gifts of Imperfection
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