In life, we have to deal with feedback all the time. The part of the book that most resonated for me at this moment in my life-as I've just completed my first semester of graduate school-is the section on feedback.

But I'm going to focus on just one piece. Even if you've seen every Brené Brown YouTube clip ever posted, getting the Full Story from the researcher/storyteller herself is another experience entirely, so I really do recommend the whole darn thing. My wise teacher says you can't get to mastery without wading through the field of suck Brown, in her book Daring Greatly, says that 'you can't get to courage without walking through vulnerability' (sorry I haven't cited page numbers, I listened to the audiobook!).ĭaring Greatly is a roadmap for cultivating courage. Brown argues the only way to muster such courage is to get comfortable with vulnerability. You need a lot of courage to enter the field of suck, and even more courage to stay in the field of suck when the going gets rough. She believes 'that vulnerability – the willingness to be 'all in' even when you know it can mean failing and hurting – is brave.' Surely you've heard of her-the TED talk she gave in 2010 has over 30 million views:Ī researcher and bestselling author, Brown focuses on courage, vulnerability, empathy, and shame. Then I beg you to acquaint yourself with Brené Brown. We look up from our struggle, wondering how much more we must endure, eye the distance between where we are and where we want to be, calculate how much more humiliation may be in store-and decide it's not worth it.ĭoes this sound familiar? Have you given up on a dream because you couldn't bear to spend one more minute in the field of suck? While you're trying and failing and disappointed that you're not there yet, there are usually people WATCHING you try and fail.įor many of us, it is so humiliating to fail in front of others that we may give up. To compound the problem, we frequently have to muddle through the field of suck under observation. It's disappointing, wanting to do something well and being unable to do it. The field of suck is a frustrating place.

We all have to wade through the field of suck before we get to mastery.' There is no way around the field of suck, and no one gets to skip the field of suck. 'Whenever you're trying to get better at something, there's where you are at your starting point, and then way far ahead of you is where you want to be-mastery, the flow state, whatever. A wise teacher I once had said this about pursuing excellence:

Daring greatly by brené brown