October 9, 2013

“The Gifts of Imperfection” by Brene Brown – Loving Ourselves

The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown (book cover)
Those of us who live in large societies are aware, or at least know about the tendency to be pushed to live a perfect life. Advertisements, celebrities, magazines, television shows, movies, video games, news reports, and all other sources of media bombard us on a daily basis with perfect perceptions that we are then drawn to follow.

In other words, we are being pushed towards becoming perfect beings, and it wouldn't be all too bad if most of us didn’t use the standards set for us to determine how successful and worthy our lives truly are. 

In The Gifts of Imperfection, Brene Brown discusses in-depth this concept of being pushed to perfection and nothing less, and also touches on the subject of concrete things we can do in order to make our perceptions of ourselves more realistic.

It can be said that the book is divided into ten parts, each one being a guidepost designed to examine a specific aspect of what we perceive our role in modern society to be. I believe that we've already all heard about how “society pushes” people to do things, and what Brown offers here is finally a concrete exploration of that subject, complete with original research and real-life examples. 

Contrary to what you would believe, the whole book isn't just a cold enumeration of facts and theories. Rather, Brown uses a warmer approach to the whole thing, making her text very smooth and simple to read, even when she touches on more complex subjects.

In the end, The Gifts of Imperfection isn't exactly a scientific journal on how our perception of ourselves is shaped by society, but rather an open-minded and fact-based analysis in which Brown serves as a spiritual guide to help us find peace within ourselves and become happy with who we are.

She tries to make it clear that regardless of what we do, there is no way we are going to end up leading smooth and perfect lives as society would demand of us. Rather than try and constantly aim for the stars and end up disappointed, Brown wants to demonstrate that it is far more advantageous to accept one’s flaws and shortcomings and consider them a natural part of life that isn't worth being ashamed of.

The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown (book cover)
If self-help books and discussions revolving around the human mind are subjects of interest for you, then I definitely suggest you pick this book up, and perhaps see yourself for who you truly are.


Brené Brown (Author)

Brené Brown


Personal site

Brene Brown is an author who detains both a Bachelor and Master in Social Work, respectively from the University of Texas at Austin and University of Houston.

Brown became a research professor at her university before truly throwing herself into literature, and she is most known for her books The Gifts of Imperfection and Daring Greatly.



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