I have always enjoyed Brené Brown's perspective, so when I heard she released a new book, I dove in.
This one offers a new viewpoint which is best summarized by this video:
Basically, it's ok to not exactly fit into a specific group. Think guns are ok but think there should be regulations on who owns them? Cool. Disagree with your neighbor's political views, but think he is a wonderful person as he drove your husband to the hospital when he was very ill? I get it. She separates viewpoints from actual people. And reminds us, no matter which side you are on, treat the other side with respect. We can disagree with Donald Trump's or Hillary Clinton's opinions, but we do not need to call them nasty names as human beings.
She offers perspectives from kids on the differences of "fitting in" and "belonging." (hint: belonging is what we are shooting for).
She spends time talking about belonging to yourself. Having dear friends and belonging to a group are important, but if you don't belong to yourself, you will never feel fulfilled.
I enjoyed the section on building trust (BRAVING), and thought this could be helpful for teams at work.
Boundaries: be clear on what is ok and what is not ok
Reliability: do what we say we're doing to do, when we say we're going to do it
Accountability: take ownership for our behavior, including amends when we make mistakes
Vault: don't share experiences that aren't ours to share, stay out of gossip
Integrity: when our actions match our words
Non-judgement: being able to ask for what we need and talk about how we feel without being judged
Generosity: giving people the benefit of the doubt
Reese and others are reading the book. Choose one of Brenés books to start off 2018!
