When you feel vulnerable, how do you react? Most of us chose to hide our feelings, but these empowering Brené Brown quotes will change how you feel about vulnerability.

Brené Brown’s groundbreaking research on the impact of shame on our lives led her to give one of the most popular TED talks of all time.

Brene believes that we deepen our own humanity and connectedness to one another when we are aware of the impact of shame, and learn to empathize with others.

We have searched the web to give you some of our favorite Brené Brown quotes.

Brené Brown Quotes to inspire you

1. “What we know matters but who we are matters more.” – Brené Brown

Everyday Application: Sure, everyone can learn something new. However, in order to grow and develop you have to put it into practice. This might mean things like changing your behavior and your habits. Who are you and what kind of person do you want to be? This matters more than the knowledge we acquire.

2. “Staying vulnerable is a risk we have to take if we want to experience connection.” – Brené Brown

Everyday Application: Our walls keep us safe by keeping people out. However, in order to connect with someone you have to really let them in. You might still get hurt, but connection is a vital part of humanity. Be a little vulnerable and see what you gain from the experience.

3. “Courage starts with showing up and letting ourselves be seen.”- Brené Brown

Everyday Application: Courage is not the absence of fear. It is just the ability to do something even when it scares you. Showing up and being vulnerable and real can be scary. However, being seen can transform your life. Let people see and know the real you.

4. “Imperfections are not inadequacies; they are reminders that we’re all in this together.”- Brené Brown

Everyday Application: There are no perfect people. There is no one on this planet that does not have some kind of imperfection. Perfection is unattainable, however, increasing our connection with others and forming comradery is an achievable goal!

5. “Don’t try to win over the haters; you are not a jackass whisperer.”- Brené Brown

Everyday Application: I just love this one. Bottom line here though is that haters have their own reason for things, and it has nothing to do with you. I had a lady rip apart an article about my trauma, because my stance made her uncomfortable due to her own trauma. You can read it here. It was a response based on her own life, as is everything that comes from other people. Don’t take it personally.

6. “Shame corrodes the very part of us that believes we are capable of change.”- Brené Brown

Everyday Application: People who live with shame often experience other negative emotions and feelings like worthlessness, depression, and anxiety. It is very difficult to believe that you can change something with all these other feelings rattling around inside your brain. Let go of shame by speaking kindly to yourself, show yourself compassion, and seek help if you need it!

7. “You are imperfect, you are wired for struggle, but you are worthy of love and belonging.” – Brené Brown

Everyday Application: All of us humans are imperfect creatures that struggle. We fail, but we try again and we learn. We evolve and develop. It is an amazing thing to witness. However, you do not have to do or achieve anything special in order to be loved. You inherently deserve love, especially from yourself!

8. “Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change.”- Brené Brown
If you’re enjoying these quotes, make sure to read our collection of innovation quotes that will inspire you to find new successes by trying new things.

Everyday Application: Being vulnerable can have an amazing impact on your life. Vulnerability builds trust within relationships, it increases our self-worth, and helps us deal with negative emotions faster. It can even boost creativity, so open up and be real!

9. “If we share our shame story with the wrong person, they can easily become one more piece of flying debris in an already dangerous storm.” – Brené Brown

Everyday Application: Give your story and your trust to people who have your best interest at heart. The people who genuinely care about what happens to you will offer to help you and not add another layer of complications to the problem. Now, that doesn’t mean they are going to enable you, so make sure you understand the difference between help and enabling.

10. “If you trade your authenticity for safety, you may experience the following: anxiety, depression, eating disorders, addiction, rage, blame, resentment, and inexplicable grief.” – Brené Brown

Everyday Application: Authenticity is THE thing that makes us who we are. It means we are true to our personality, our spirit, and the things we hold dear. To give that up for whatever reason would cause deep discomfort in your mind and soul resulting in all the things Brown mentions. Check out this article for tips on discovering your authenticity.

Brené Brown Quotes to make you more confident

11. “We cannot selectively numb emotions, when we numb the painful emotions, we also numb the positive emotions.” – Brené Brown

Everyday Application: The full spectrum of human emotions is within all of us. Some emotions are painful or ‘negative.’ However, those emotions have a purpose and teach us something about ourselves. They can also help us learn to cherish and better appreciate the things in our lives that make us feel positive emotions.

12. “I now see how owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing that we will ever do.” – Brené Brown

Everyday Application: There might be parts of your story that cause you fear or pain. Facing those, and acknowledging how they helped shape you is essential to becoming the person you were meant to be. Walking through the field of emotional landmines and learning to forgive yourself is hard, but be brave and do it.

13. “Because true belonging only happens when we present our authentic, imperfect selves to the world, our sense of belonging can never be greater than our level of self-acceptance.” – Brené Brown

Everyday Application: How can we belong anywhere or with anyone else if we do not accept ourselves for who we are? Your authentic self is unique and valuable. Do not hide it away. Share who you are with the world and the people meant to be part of your circle will find you.

14. “Vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage. Truth and courage aren’t always comfortable, but they’re never weakness.” – Brené Brown

Everyday Application: Some of the best things in our lives are uncomfortable. Growth and love both require you to be vulnerable. You will never be weak for trying to grow or loving someone.

15. “The dark does not destroy the light; it defines it. It’s our fear of the dark that casts our joy into the shadows.” – Brené Brown

Everyday Application: Darkness and light go together. No one gets through life without experiencing some of both. Maybe, you have had more darkness than light, but have faith that your joy will come. Try focusing on the positive things that you have in your life, instead of devoting all your energy to the negative things.

16. “If we can share our story with someone who responds with empathy and understanding, shame can’t survive.” – Brené Brown

17. “Faith is a place of mystery, where we find the courage to believe in what we cannot see and the strength to let go of our fear of uncertainty.” – Brené Brown

18. “Vulnerability is the birthplace of love, belonging, joy, courage, empathy, and creativity. It is the source of hope, empathy, accountability, and authenticity. If we want greater clarity in our purpose or deeper and more meaningful spiritual lives, vulnerability is the path.” – Brené Brown

19. “When I look at narcissism through the vulnerability lens, I see the shame-based fear of being ordinary. I see the fear of never feeling extraordinary enough to be noticed, to be lovable, to belong, or to cultivate a sense of purpose.” – Brené Brown

20. “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 be seen.” – Brené Brown

Brené Brown Quotes to make you strong

21. “To love someone fiercely, to believe in something with your whole heart, to celebrate a fleeting moment in time, to fully engage in a life that doesn’t come with guarantees – these are risks that involve vulnerability and often pain. But, I’m learning that recognizing and leaning into the discomfort of vulnerability teaches us how to live with joy, gratitude and grace.” – Brené Brown

22. “Understanding the difference between healthy striving and perfectionism is critical to laying down the shield and picking up your life. Research shows that perfectionism hampers success. In fact, it’s often the path to depression, anxiety, addiction, and life paralysis.” – Brené Brown

23. “Nostalgia is also a dangerous form of comparison. Think about how often we compare our lives to a memory that nostalgia has so completely edited that it never really existed.” – Brené Brown

24. “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 and joy—the experiences that make us the most vulnerable. Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light.” – Brené Brown

25. “I define connection 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.” – Brené Brown

26. “Joy comes to us in ordinary moments. We risk missing out when we get too busy chasing down the extraordinary.”- Brené Brown

27. “We run from grief because loss scares us, yet our hearts reach toward grief because the broken parts want to mend.”- Brené Brown

28. “Authenticity is the daily practice of letting go of who we think we’re supposed to be and embracing who we are.”- Brené Brown

29. “I believe that what we regret most are our failures of courage, whether it’s the courage to be kinder, to show up, to say how we feel, to set boundaries, to be good to ourselves. For that reason, regret can be the birthplace of empathy.”- Brené Brown

30. “Connection is why we’re here; it is what gives purpose and meaning to our lives.”- Brené Brown

Brené Brown Quotes to Encourage and Empower

31. “I thought faith would say, ‘I’ll take away the pain and discomfort,’ but what it ended up saying was, ‘I’ll sit with you in it.’”- Brené Brown

32. “Our job is not to deny the story, but to defy the ending—to rise strong, recognize our story, and rumble with the truth until we get to a place where we think, Yes. This is what happened. And I will choose how the story ends.”- Brené Brown

33. “Daring to set boundaries is about having the courage to love ourselves even when we risk disappointing others.”- Brené Brown

34. “Courage is contagious. A critical mass of brave leaders is the foundation of an intentionally courageous culture. Every time we are brave with our lives, we make the people around us a little braver and our organizations bolder and stronger.”- Brené Brown

35. “When we work from a place, I believe, that says ‘I’m enough,’ then we stop screaming and start listening, we’re kinder and gentler to the people around us, and we’re kinder and gentler to ourselves.”- Brené Brown

36. “Empathy has no script. There is no right way or wrong way to do it. It’s simply listening, holding space, withholding judgment, emotionally connecting, and communicating that incredibly healing message of ‘You’re not alone.’”- Brené Brown

37. “If you can’t ask for help without self-judgment, you cannot offer help without judging others.”- Brené Brown

38. “Those who have a strong sense of love and belonging have the courage to be imperfect.”- Brené Brown

39. “To me, a leader is someone who holds her- or himself accountable for finding potential in people and processes.”- Brené Brown

40. “Talk about your failures without apologizing.” – Brené Brown

More Brené Brown Quotes and Sayings

41. “Courage is like—it’s a habitus, a habit, a virtue: You get it by courageous acts. It’s like you learn to swim by swimming. You learn courage by couraging.” – Brené Brown

42. “The willingness to show up changes us, It makes us a little braver each time.”- Brené Brown

43. “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.”- Brené Brown

44. “We don’t have to do all of it alone. We were never meant to.”- Brené Brown

45. “You cannot shame or belittle people into changing their behaviors.”- Brené Brown

46. “Want to be happy? Stop trying to be perfect.”- Brené Brown

47. “Just because someone isn’t willing or able to love us, it doesn’t mean that we are unlovable.”- Brené Brown

48. “Shame is the most powerful, master emotion. It’s the fear that we’re not good enough.”- Brené Brown

49. “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.”- Brené Brown

50. “Vulnerability is not about winning or losing. It’s having the courage to show up even when you can’t control the outcome.”- Brené Brown

Brené Brown quotes that are full of wisdom

51. “Shame, blame, disrespect, betrayal, and the withholding of affection damage the roots from which love grows. Love can only survive these injuries if they are acknowledged, healed, and rare.” ― Brené Brown

52. “I can confidently say that stories of pain and courage almost always include two things: praying and cussing. Sometimes at the exact same time.” ― Brené Brown

53. “Love is not something we give or get; it is something that we nurture and grow, a connection that can only be cultivated between two people when it exists within each one of them—we can only love others as much as we love ourselves.” ― Brené Brown

54. “If we want people to fully show up, to bring their whole selves including their unarmored, whole hearts—so that we can innovate, solve problems, and serve people—we have to be vigilant about creating a culture in which people feel safe, seen, heard, and respected.” ― Brené Brown

55. “Perfectionism is not about healthy achievement and growth. Perfectionism is the belief that if we live perfect, look perfect, and act perfect, we can minimize or avoid the pain of blame, judgement, and shame. It’s a shield.” ― Brené Brown

56. “Daring is not saying, “I’m willing to risk failure.” Daring is saying, “I know I will eventually fail and I’m still all in.” ― Brené Brown

57. “Only when diverse perspectives are included, respected, and valued can we start to get a full picture of the world.” ― Brené Brown

58. “When we feel good about the choices we’re making and when we’re engaging with the world from a place of worthiness rather than scarcity, we feel no need to judge and attack.” ― Brené Brown

59. “Art has the power to render sorrow beautiful, make loneliness a shared experience, and transform despair into hope.” ― Brené Brown

60. “Being ourselves means sometimes having to find the courage to stand alone, totally alone.” ― Brené Brown

What other Brené Brown quotes would you add to the list?