Daring greatly

Reading from Tuesday, March 19, 2013 yoga class

I love Brene Brown.  If you aren't familiar with her, check out her TED talk on vulnerability.  You will be HOOKED after you listen to this wonderful talk.  Anyway... she has several books... and I am going to quote from her book entitled "Daring greatly."  She begins the book with a passage from a speech given by Theodore Roosevelt in 1910 and I quote it as follows:

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly..."

Brene goes on to say:

"The first time I read this quote, I thought, This is vulnerability.  Everything I've learned from over a decade of research on vulnerability has taught me this exact lesson.  Vulnerability is not knowing victory or defeat, it's understanding the necessity of both; it's engaging.  It's being all in. 

Vulnerability is not weakness, and the uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure we face every day are not optional...When we spend our lives waiting until we're perfect or bulletproof before we walk into the arena, we ultimately sacrifice relationships and opportunities that may not be recoverable, we squander our precious time, and we turn our backs on our gifts, those unique contributions that only we can make.

Perfect and bulletproof are seductive, but they don't exist in the human experience.  We must walk into the arena, whatever it may be--a new relationship, an important meeting, our creative process, or a difficult family conversation--with courage and the willingness to engage.  Rather than sitting on the sidelines and hurling judgment and advice, we must dare to show up and let ourselves be seen.  This is vulnerability.  This is daring greatly."

Doesn't this just make you want to stand up and say YES!!!   I am vulnerable everytime I sit on my mat at the front of the room to teach yoga... BUT... I do it because I am daring greatly.