The Gifts Of Imperfection Analysis

“The Gifts of Imperfection”
Brené Brown wrote, “The Gifts of Imperfection”. Brené wrote the book to show what she learned from different people and to make people aware of choices leading to wholeheartedness. In the introduction, Brown states that wholehearted living is a process, not a one-time choice. The key to imperfection is cultivated courage, compassion and connection. Nobody in this world is perfect. This book taught me that we as humans are imperfect and vulnerable.
First of all, courage is one of the keys to wholehearted living. According to Brown the definition of courage has been changed over the past years. When I hear the word hero I think of someone who is courageous. Brown mentions that courage was originally defined as

“To speak one’s mind by telling all one’s heart (Brown 12)”. It is extremely important to recognize courage in our lives. As humans, we need to have the heart to recognize our downfalls. As we learn to recognize our downfalls, there may be times that we feel unworthy as a person. For Example, there were times in my previous job when I caught a glimpse of that feeling. My job required correct data entry into a system. When the wrong data was entered we would have to ask the Program Coordinator to delete the entry because we did not have permissions to do so. Whenever I made a mistake I felt so disappointed and embarrassed with myself. It was hard for me to recognize that I had made a mistake, and it took a lot of courage to admit it.

Furthermore, compassion is the next key factor of imperfection.

There are several people in today’s society that are two-faced. Interpersonally most of the society is judgmental and resentful. On the other hand, people are sweeter on the outside (Brown 16). We make it easier and comfortable to dislike something or someone because we hold them accountable. We need to learn to analyze the situation and not only assume; in other words, don’t judge a book by its cover. In one of my college classes there was a woman that would always be late to class. There were several occasions that the instructor would extend the assignment deadline just because her assignment were not completed. Some student would get irritated and talked about her behind her back. However, they did not know that she was a victim of abuse by her own husband and was affected emotionally and physically. The other students did not have any compassion for the women. It was easier for them to assume and talk about her instead of taking the time to ask her if anything was

wrong.
Additionally, connection is the third key factor of imperfection. When I think of the word “connection”, I relate it to technology. In reality we are not connected in our lives the correct way. In today’s society we communicate more through the internet and the use of technology. For example, Facebook, e-mails, messenger, etc. Verbal communication is fading away as we continue to implement technology in our everyday tasks. The implementation of technology leads to people being afraid to ask for help. People think they can handle everything for themselves. As an example, it may take me one or two days to decide if I am going to ask anyone for help. My first thought is that people will view me as weak and as a failure. Which, leads me to think that I need to associate more with people and think more positive.
It is not devastating to have the courage to accept our imperfections. As human beings, we need to have the courage to tell our story and accept criticism.
Not being truthful with ourselves, could damage our health by getting stressed or depressed. We need to let go of perfectionism. We as human beings have a tendency of being very self-conscious. This is why we are constantly thinking about our imperfections. We feel that if we are perfect we can diminish the painful feeling of shame and unworthiness. We need to learn to love and be vulnerable to embrace our imperfections. Goals can help us feel more inspired and motivated, allowing us to feel better about ourselves. However, there will be times when we feel down and might need a little motivation. When I feel this way I think of my child because she gives me the strength and motivation to continue.
Much more, it would do us much good to let go of anxiety and worries to improve our lifestyle.

Anxiety can generate many health issues on us physically and mentally. Anxiety may cause many of us to feel lightheaded and even get headaches. Letting go of anxiety can be challenging. Everybody should have at least one hobby that helps with stress and anxiety. Running while listening to music helps me reduce stress or anxiety. On the other hand, we get stressed and anxious because we keep our minds busy creating a list of things that need to be accomplished, which prevents us from taking a chance to breath. It is wise and highly recommended to take some time throughout the day to reflect or

meditate.
Letting go of self-doubt and the “Suppose to” is another obstacle that we may face. We all have some type of gift and talent. Brown, states that self-doubt and “suppose to” does not allow us to find our gifts and talents; therefore, we do not share them with others. We tend to live our day to day life based on what we are expected to do according to other people. We need to understand that everyone is unique in their own way or fashion. Having our loved ones around us brings joy and laughter and can generate a huge positive impact on ourselves.
Personally laughter makes me forget about all my overwhelming problems, especially if my husband is there to make me laugh.
Overall, nobody is perfect. We need to learn how to view imperfection as a positive thing. As I mentioned in the first paragraph the key to imperfection is to cultivate, courage, compassion, and connection. Being wholehearted is a process that can take days, months or years to master. I love the concept of wholeheartedness, which is why I plan to practice the process throughout my life. As I was reading the book I could relate to several examples that Brown gave. “Owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing that we will ever do” (Brown ix). In my culture, people are very judgmental and criticize every single little thing. There were multiple occasions that I felt ashamed of myself; this is the reason why I chose this book. Now that I have read the book I fully understand and have learned about the process of wholeheartedness and plan to implement and follow it in my life.