30 Best Quotes from Atlas of the Heart by Brené Brown

To form meaningful connections with others, we must first connect with ourselves.

When we don’t understand how our emotions shape our thoughts and decisions, we become disembodied from our own experiences and disconnected from each other.

So often, when we feel lost, adrift in our lives, our first instinct is to look out into the distance to find the nearest shore. But that shore, that solid ground, is within us. The anchor we are searching for is connection, and it is internal.

I am a mapmaker and a traveler.

Stressed is being in the weeds. Overwhelmed is being blown.

Anxiety and excitement feel the same, but how we interpret and label them can determine how we experience them.

Comparison says, “Be like everyone else, but better.”

Comparison is the crush of conformity from one side and competition from the other—it’s trying to simultaneously fit in and stand out.

Vulnerability is not weakness; it’s our greatest measure of courage.

While resentment is definitely an emotion, I normally recognize it by a familiar thought pattern: What mean and critical thing am I rehearsing saying to this person?

Nothing that celebrates the humiliation or pain of another person builds lasting connection.

Disappointment is unmet expectations. The more significant the expectations, the more significant the disappointment.

There are too many people in the world today who decide to live disappointed rather than risk feeling disappointment.

We need hope like we need air.

Hope is a function of struggle—we develop hope not during the easy or comfortable times, but through adversity and discomfort.

To be human is to know sadness. Owning our sadness is courageous and a necessary step in finding our way back to ourselves and each other.

We have to belong to ourselves as much as we need to belong to others. Any belonging that asks us to betray ourselves is not true belonging.

Be here. Be you. Belong.

True belonging doesn’t require us to change who we are; it requires us to be who we are.

We need more real love. Gritty, dangerous, wild-eyed, justice-seeking love.

The brokenhearted are the bravest among us—they dared to love.

Do I have enough information to freak out? The answer is normally no. Will freaking out help? The answer is always no.

Don’t look away. Don’t look down. Don’t pretend not to see hurt. Look people in the eye. Even when their pain is overwhelming. And when you’re hurting and in pain, find the people who can look you in the eye.

I’m here to get it right, not to be right.

We need to know we’re not alone—especially when we’re hurting.

The wild and ever-changing nature of emotions and experiences leaves our hearts stretch-marked and strong, worn and willing.

Even when we have no idea where we are or where we’re going, with the right map, we can find our way back to our heart and to our truest self.

In this life, we will know and bear witness to incredible sorrow and anguish, and we will experience breathless love and joy.

Our connection with others can only be as deep as our connection with ourselves. If I don’t know and understand who I am and what I need, want, and believe, I can’t share myself with you.