My Gifts of Imperfection

So it seems my entries have been sparse lately, and that is solely due to not wanting to write. I write almost everyday in my journal but have struggled with what to write here, not really knowing what (if anything) people care to read. I also think my blog has been an emotional outlet and not sure if the sadness, raw and unfiltered thoughts are appropriate. I've been told by a few that I shouldn't put my life out there online - sharing some of the most special moments with people I barely know. But if I've learned anything it's that vulnerability leads to connection, which strengthens compassion, builds courage and eliminates shame. I HIGHLY recommend this TedTalks by Brene Brown who has only come to inspire me to be a better person. It's about 20 minutes long but I dare you to take the time and learn from one of the greatest authors and motivational speakers I know.

The Power of Vulnerability

I am also reading one of her books, The Gifts of Imperfection, and just can't get enough! As I've began to grow myself over the past year and invest in getting to know who the real Megan is, I've come to realize that life is not meant to be hidden but shared! Little did I know that our imperfections can be used as gifts to those around us. "Owning our story and loving ourselves through the process is the bravest thing that we will ever do." This is what I have to do everyday. I have to re-own my story, the story God has blessed me with, so that I can use it for His glory and for the power to connect with those around me. Brene Brown writes about the ten guideposts we should work towards in order to live authentically and whole-heartedly (engaging in our lives from a place of worthiness). They are as follows:

Cultivating Authenticity: Letting Go of What People Thing

• "Often people attempt to live their lives backwards: they try to have more things, or more money, in order to do more of what they want so that they will be happier. The way it actually works is the reverse. You must first be who you really are, then do what you really need to do, in order to have what you want." - Margaret Young

Cultivating Self-Compassion: Letting Go of Perfectionism

• "The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself." - Anna Quindlen

Cultivating a Resilient Spirit: Letting Go of Numbing and Powerlessness

•  "She could never go back and make some of the details pretty. All she could do was move forward and make the whole beautiful." - Terri St. Cloud

Cultivating Gratitude and Joy: Letting Go of Scarcity and Fear of the Dark

• "Joy seems to me a step beyond happiness. Happiness is a sort of atmosphere you can live in sometimes when you're lucky. Joy is a light that fills you with hope and faith and love." - Adela Rogers

Cultivating Intuition and Trusting Faith: Letting Go of the Need for Certainty

• "Intuition is not a single way of knowing - it's our ability to hold space for uncertainty and our willingness to trust the many ways we've developed knowledge and insight, including instinct, experience, faith, and reason."
• "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.

Cultivating Creativity: Letting Go of Comparison

• "Creativity, which is the expression of our originality, helps us stay mindful that what we bring to the world is completely original and cannot be compared."
• "The only unique contribution that we will ever make in this world will be born of our creativity."
• "As long as we're creating, we're cultivating meaning."

Cultivating Play and Rest: Letting Go of Exhaustion as a Status Symbol and Productivity as Self-Worth

• "If what matters to us is what other people think or say or value, then it's back to exhaustion and producing for self-worth. Today, I choose play and rest." 

Cultivating Calm and Stillness: Letting Go of Anxiety as a Lifestyle

• "Stillness is not about focusing on nothingness; it's about creating a clearing. It's opening up an emotionally clutter-free space and allowing ourselves to feel and think and dream and question."

Cultivating Meaningful Work: Letting Go of Self-Doubt and "Supposed To"

• We all have gifts and talents.
• Squandering our gifts brings distress to our lives.
• Sharing our gifts and talents with the world is the most powerful source of connection with God.
• Using our gifts and talents to create meaningful work takes a tremendous amount of commitment.
• Like our gifts and talents, meaning is unique to each one of us.

Cultivating Laughter, Song, and Dance: Letting Go of Being Cool and "Always in Control"

• "Dance like no one is watching. Sing like no one is listening. Love like you've never been hurt and live like it's heave on Earth." - Mark Twain