Brené Brown

But I'm not really judging you for it.

It's just that behavior is not okay right here.

I think the hardest is maybe one of the biggest findings of my research over the last 25 years is it's not fear that gets in the way of us being brave with our lives and our work.

It's armor.

Everybody's afraid.

It's okay to be afraid.

What's dangerous is the armor that we reach for to self-protect when we're afraid and

And how that armor moves us away from love, connection, and our values.

And so I think the hardest work is, for me, constantly being aware of what is my armor?

What am I grabbing for when I'm afraid?

What am I grabbing for when I want to protect my sense of self-worth, my ego?

And how heavy that shit is.

You know, at some point I had to wear it because that was survival for me growing up.

But this is the big developmental milestone of middle age, which you are squarely entering, which is kind of when the universe grabs you by the shoulders and pulls you really close and says, I'm not fucking around anymore.

They gave you gifts.

Choosing not to grow into them is not benign.

There's a consequence for that.

And your armor is getting in the way.

You're a grown-ass person now.

You have different choices.