Atlas of the Heart Quotes

“Research shows that breaks involving amusement may help replenish depleted cognitive resources, and that the replenishment continues through difficult tasks.”
― Brené Brown, Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience

“When we’re reading, listening, or watching, we can learn to recognize complexity as a signal of credibility.”
― Brené Brown, Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience

“We experience social pain and physical pain in the same part of our brains.”
― Brené Brown, Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience

“Life Is Beautiful Terms of Endearment Beaches The Joy Luck Club The Color Purple Steel Magnolias Brokeback Mountain P.S. I Love You Inside Out”
― Brené Brown, Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience

“power is not bad, but the abuse of power or using power over others is the opposite of courage; it's a desperate attempt to maintain a very fragile ego.”
― Brené Brown, Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience

“In our research, regret emerged as a function of empathy. And, when used constructively, it’s a call to courage and a path toward wisdom.”
― Brené Brown, Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience

“Saunders talked about how when he was a child, a young girl was teased at his school and, although he didn’t tease her and even defended her a little, he still thought about it. He said: So here’s something I know to be true, although it’s a little corny, and I don’t quite know what to do with it: What I regret most in my life are failures of kindness. Those moments when another human being was there, in front of me, suffering, and I responded…sensibly. Reservedly. Mildly.”
― Brené Brown, Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience

“but there is a middle path—a way to maintain expectations and stay optimistic—that requires more courage and vulnerability: Examine and express our expectations. There are too many people in the world today who decide to live disappointed rather than risk feeling disappointment.”
― Brené Brown, Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience

“When someone shares their hopes and dreams with us, we are witnessing deep courage and vulnerability. Celebrating their successes is easy, but when disappointment happens, it’s an incredible opportunity for meaningful connection. Think how powerful it might have been for Elizabeth to hear, “You had such courage to apply for that promotion and even more courage to be honest about how much you wanted it. I’m so proud to be your daughter/son/mentor/friend/parent.”
― Brené Brown, Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience

“If you’re not asking for what’s important to you, maybe it’s because you don’t think you are worth it.” Shut up. You don’t know me. You’re fired.”
― Brené Brown, Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience

“What do you need from this gathering and why?”
― Brené Brown, Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience

“We try to model the questions: What expectations do you have going into this? What do you want to happen? Why? What will that mean to you? Do you have a movie in your head? And in this perception-driven world, the big question is always: Are you setting goals and expectations that are completely outside of your control?”
― Brené Brown, Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience

“That doesn’t mean stealth expectations no longer trip us up. They do. But now we help each other. We help each other reality-check our expectations, we ask each other a lot of questions about what we think will happen or what we want to happen, and we often ask ourselves and each other: What’s this about? What are you not saying?”
― Brené Brown, Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience

“however, when Steve and I were both home, we set all kinds of wild expectations about getting stuff done. What we never did was reality-check our expectations or make them explicit. We just tended to blame each other for our disappointment when our expectations weren’t realized.”
― Brené Brown, Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience

“The movie in our mind is wonderful, but no one else knows their parts, their lines, or what it means to us.”
― Brené Brown, Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience

“A recent study showed that simple, boring tasks or mundane activities can allow our minds to wander, daydream, and create. The lack of stimulation that defines “being bored” gives our imagination room to play and grow.”
― Brené Brown, Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience

“False dichotomies are undisciplined thought. In the words of F. Scott Fitzgerald, “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.” Builders of greatness are comfortable with paradox. They don’t oppress themselves with what we call the “Tyranny of the OR,” which pushes people to believe that things must be either A OR B, but not both. Instead, they liberate themselves with the “Genius of the AND.” Undisciplined thinkers force debates into stark “Tyranny of the OR” choices; disciplined thinkers expand the conversation to create “Genius of the AND” solutions. In our research, we found myriad permutations of “Genius of the AND” dualities. For example: Creativity AND Discipline Innovation AND Execution Humility AND Audacity Freedom AND Responsibility”
― Brené Brown, Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience

“what is important to me is not safe with this person in this situation (or any situation).” These definitions perfectly capture what emerged from our data on trust and mistrust.”
― Brené Brown, Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience

“anxiety and fear have helped every species to be wary and to survive. Fear can signal us to act, or, alternatively, to resist the impulse to act. It can help us to make wise, self-protective choices in and out of relationships where we might otherwise sail mindlessly along, ignoring signs of trouble.”
― Brené Brown, Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience

“the more I used alcohol, food, work, caretaking, and whatever else I could get my hands on to numb my anxiety and vulnerability, the less I would understand my feelings, thoughts, and behaviors.”
― Brené Brown, Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience

“Overwhelmed If stress is like being in the weeds, feeling overwhelmed is like being blown. Overwhelmed means an extreme level of stress, an emotional and/or cognitive intensity to the point of feeling unable to function. I love this definition of “overwhelmed” from the Merriam-Webster online dictionary: “completely overcome or overpowered by thought or feeling.”
― Brené Brown, Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience

“Stressed We feel stressed when we evaluate environmental demand as beyond our ability to cope successfully. This includes elements of unpredictability, uncontrollability, and feeling overloaded. —”
― Brené Brown, Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience

“Ludwig Wittgenstein that I came across in college: “The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.”
― Brené Brown, Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience

“Understanding and feeling those edges brings grace and clarity. The edges taught me that the more I used alcohol, food, work, caretaking, and whatever else I could get my hands on to numb my anxiety and vulnerability, the less I would understand my feelings, thoughts, and behaviors. I finally realized that trying to outrun and outsmart vulnerability and pain is choosing a life defined by suffering and exhaustion.”
― Brené Brown, Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience

“While we are experiencing joy we don't lose ourselves we become more truly ourselves - Matthew Kuan Johnson”
― Brené Brown, Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience

“The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.”
― Brené Brown, Atlas of the Heart: The Bestselling Guide to Understanding our Emotions and Developing Meaningful Connections

“Your lack of work is not making me resentful, my lack of rest is making me resentful.

I remember the moment I saw resentment in another person and thought "Oh no, she's so unlikable. So awful. But so painfully relatable. I don't want to be that person"

Home for the Holidays movie”
― Brené Brownn, Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience

“Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know,”
― Brené Brown, Atlas of the Heart: The Bestselling Guide to Understanding our Emotions and Developing Meaningful Connections

“Language is our portal to meaning-making, connection, healing, learning, and self-awareness. Having access to the right words can open up entire universes.”
― Brené Brown, Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience

“When we have more control and autonomy over the boring tasks, it’s more likely that boredom will leave us feeling lethargic”
― Brené Brown, Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience