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Vulnerability Quotes

Browse 1223 quotes about Vulnerability.

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Vulnerability Quotes

“Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it. Embracing our vulnerabilities is risky but not nearly as dangerous as giving up on love and belonging and joy—the experiences that make us the most vulnerable. Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light.”

InspirationalGivingHardEnoughStoriesLightRunningJoyPurposeDifficultDarknessCourageOur LivesDangerousGiving UpInfiniteBraveSpendingVulnerableVulnerabilityBelongingInfinite PowerGiving Up On Love
Author:Brené Brown
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“He was a volatile mixture of confidence and vulnerability. He could deliver extended monologues on professional matters, then promptly stop in his tracks to peer inquisitively into his guest's eyes for signs of boredom or mockery, being intelligent enough to be unable fully to believe in his own claims to significance. He might, in a past life, have been a particularly canny and sharp-tongued royal advisor.”

BelieveHas BeensMatterEnoughMightEyePastClaimsIntelligentTrackVulnerabilityBoredomSignificanceGuestsPeersRoyalMixturesMockeryPast LifeMonologuesAdvisors
Author:Alain de Botton
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“We tend to think of memories as monuments we once forged and may find intact beneath the weedy growth of years. But, in a real sense, memories are tied to and describe the present. Formed in an idiosyncratic way when they happened, they're also true to the moment of recall, including how you feel, all you've experienced, and new values, passions, and vulnerability. One never steps into the same stream of consciousness twice.”

ThinkingWayFeelsYearsMayRealMomentsValuesPassionGrowthMemoriesConsciousnessStepsHappenedIncludingVulnerabilityStreamsTiedRecallsMonumentHow You FeelForgedStream Of Consciousness
Book:An Alchemy of Mind: The Marvel and Mystery of the Brain
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“There are, of course, inherent tendencies to repetition in music itself. Our poetry, our ballads, our songs are full of repetition; nursery rhymes and the little chants and songs we use to teach young children have choruses and refrains. We are attracted to repetition, even as adults; we want the stimulus and the reward again and again, and in music we get it. Perhaps, therefore, we should not be surprised, should not complain if the balance sometimes shifts too far and our musical sensitivity becomes a vulnerability.”

IfsWantShouldChildrenLittlesSometimesUseYoungSongCoursesTeachBalanceAdultsRewardsMusicalComplainingTendenciesVulnerabilityInherentAgain And AgainRhymeSensitivityRepetitionStimulusRefrainChorusNurseryYoung ChildrenBalladsNursery Rhymes
Author:Oliver Sacks
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“We need a home in the psychological sense as much as we need one in the physical: to compensate for a vulnerability. We need a refuge to shore up our states of mind, because so much of the world is opposed to our allegiances. We need our rooms to align us to desirable versions of ourselves and to keep alive the important, evanescent sides of us.”

WorldNeedsMindImportantStatesHomeSidesRoomsAliveVersionsPsychologicalVulnerabilityShoreState Of MindRefugeDesirableAllegiance
Author:Alain de Botton
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“Human beings, whatever their backgrounds, are more open than we think, that their behavior cannot be confidently predicted from their past, that we are all creatures vulnerable to new thoughts, new attitudes. And while such vulnerability creates all sorts of possibilities, both good and bad, its very existence is exciting. It means that no human being should be written off, no change in thinking deemed impossible.”

ThinkingShouldHumansMeanPastHuman BeingsExistenceAttitudeImpossibleWrittenPossibilityCreaturesBehaviorExcitingBackgroundsVulnerableVulnerabilityGood And BadNew ThoughtNew Attitude
Book:The Zinn Reader: Writings on Disobedience and Democracy
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“We are all members of the same flawed species. Putting our moral vision into practice means imposing our will on others. The human lust for power and esteem, coupled with its vulnerability to self-deception and self-righteousness, makes that an invitation to a calamity, all the worse when the power is directed at a goal as quixotic as eradicating human self-interest.”

HumansMeanSelfGoalInterestMoralVisionPracticeMembersSpeciesLustEsteemDeceptionVulnerabilityRighteousnessFlawedInvitationsCalamitySelf InterestSelf DeceptionImposingSelf RighteousnessLust For PowerQuixotic
Author:Steven Pinker
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“Throughout human history, as our species has faced the frightening, terrorizing fact that we do not know who we are, or where we are going in this ocean of chaos, it has been the authorities - the political, the religious, the educational authorities - who attempted to comfort us by giving us order, rules, regulations, informing - forming in our minds - their view of reality. To think for yourself you must question authority and learn how to put yourself in a state of vulnerable open-mindedness, chaotic, confused vulnerability to inform yourself.”

ThinkingKnowsGivingMindHumansHas BeensStatesFactsRealityPoliticalOrderReligiousViewsComfortAuthorityOceanSpeciesChaosEducationalVulnerableVulnerabilityConfusedWho We AreRegulationFrighteningHuman HistoryChaoticOpen MindednessPsychedelic ExperienceInformingThink For Yourself
Author:Timothy Leary
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“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; . . . who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.”

IfsKnowsMenEndsDoneMotivationalFacesStrongCourageFailingBloodWorstFailureAchievementAmbitionCriticismCriticsStriveDeedsCreditEnthusiasmDustTriumphVulnerabilitySweatDaringStrifeArenaBadassHave CourageManlyDoersStrong ManTeddyTimiditySuccess Or FailureInspirational MilitaryGreat EffortAmerican MilitaryRisk And FailureEnthusiasm For LifeDaring GreatlyVictory And DefeatMilitary ManSuccess Is Not MeasuredMilitary SoldierDeeds DoneI Have ChangedVictory DefeatDreaming And DoingGreat AmbitionGreatest MilitaryHistorical MilitaryCriticism Of OthersWorthy CausesUltra MarathonDare To Be GreatCriticism And PraiseRunning ShoesServing In The MilitaryDaring To Be GreatBlood And SweatToughness In SportsMost BadassHigh Ambition
Author:Theodore Roosevelt
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“I believe that owning our worthiness is the act of acknowledging that we are sacred. Perhaps embracing vulnerability and overcoming numbing is ultimately about the care and feeding of our spirits”

BelieveCareSpiritI BelieveOvercomingSacredVulnerabilityFeedingWorthinessNumbingSoulfulness
Book:Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead
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“When I look at narcissism through the vulnerability lens, I see the shame-based fear of being ordinary. I see the fear of never feeling extraordinary enough to be noticed, to be lovable, to belong, or to cultivate a sense of purpose.”

LooksEnoughFeelingsPurposeFearOrdinaryShameExtraordinaryVulnerabilityNarcissismLensesLovable
Book:Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead
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“Worrying about scarcity is our culture's version of post-traumatic stress. It happens when we've been through too much, and rather than coming together to heal (which requires vulnerability) we're angry and scared and at each other's throats.”

HappensTogetherCultureFearWorryToo MuchStressAngryScaredHealVersionsPostsVulnerabilityThroatDaringScarcityComing TogetherDaring Greatly
Book:Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead
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“If you are in the closet and fall in love with someone of the same gender, it doesn't automatically remove the shame and fear that's kept you locked away. The love you are experiencing encourages you to face the reality that this is who you really are and also has the power to set you free. The richness, beauty and depths of love can only be fully experienced in a climate of complete openness, honesty and vulnerability. Love, the most powerful of human emotions, is calling you to freedom and wholeness.”

IfsLoveHumansRealityAgeFacesFallPowerfulEmotionLove YouHonestyCallingShameClimateFalling In LoveDepthGenderVulnerabilityRemoveMost PowerfulOpennessLockedWholenessClosetsRichnessHuman EmotionsDepth Of Love
Author:Anthony Venn-Brown
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“She had said she didn't feel fear, but it was a lie; this was her fear: being left alone. Because of one thing she was certain, and it was that she could never love, not like that. Trust a stranger with her flesh? The closeness, the quiet. She couldn't imagine it. Breathing someone else's breath as they breathed yours, touching someone, opening for them? The vulnerability of it made her flush. It would mean submission, letting down her guard, and she wouldn't. Ever. Just the thought made her feel small and weak as a child.”

FeelsMeanChildrenMadeSaidLyingCertainLeftImagineOne ThingQuietWeakBreathsStrangerFleshOpeningBreathingVulnerabilityTouchingSubmissionLeft AloneCloseness
Author:Laini Taylor
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“The intimacy that arises in listening and speaking truth is only possible if we can open to the vulnerability of our own hearts. Breathing in, contacting the life that is right here, is our first step. Once we have held ourselves with kindness, we can touch others in a vital and healing way.”

IfsWayFirstsHeartHealingStepsKindnessListeningTruth IsAriseIntimacyBreathingVulnerabilityFirst Steps
Book:True Refuge: Finding Peace and Freedom in Your Own Awakened Heart
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“Toughness found fertile soil in the hearts of Palestinians, and the grains of resistance embedded themselves in their skin. Endurance evolved as a hallmark of refugee society. But the price they paid was the subduing of tender vulnerability. They learned to celebrate martyrdom. Only martyrdom offered freedom. Only in death were they at last invulnerable to Israel. Martyrdom became the ultimate defiance of Israeli occupation.”

HeartLastsFoundSkinsUltimatePaidIsraelResistanceCelebrateVulnerabilitySoilEnduranceOccupationGrainPalestinianRefugeeIsraeliDefianceEmbeddedFertileToughnessMartyrdomHallmarkFertile SoilIsraeli Occupation
Book:Mornings in Jenin
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“The first thing to say about Eve is that she was a big improvement on the Adam design, or that Adam was an extremely misguided variation on the Eve design. (Consider testicles. Two concentrated nuclei of absolute vulnerability. Where? Dangling between the legs. I rest my case.)”

FirstsTwoBigsCasesDesignAbsolutesLegsImprovementVulnerabilityAdamVariationMisguidedNucleusTesticles
Book:I, Lucifer: Finally, the Other Side of the Story
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“Wholeheartedness. There are many tenets of Wholeheartedness, but at its very core is vulnerability and worthiness; facing uncertainty, exposure, and emotional risks, and knowing that I am enough.”

EnoughKnowingRiskEmotionalCoreUncertaintyVulnerabilityExposureWorthinessWholeheartedness
Book:Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead
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“To love someone fiercely, to believe in something with your whole heart, to celebrate a fleeting moment in time, to fully engage in a life that doesn’t come with guarantees – these are risks that involve vulnerability and often pain. But, I’m learning that recognizing and leaning into the discomfort of vulnerability teaches us how to live with joy, gratitude and grace.”

BelieveHeartWholeMomentsPainJoyTeachGraceRiskGratitudeCelebrateVulnerabilityGuaranteesRecognizingFleetingLove SomeoneDiscomfortMoments In TimeFleeting Moments
Author:Brené Brown
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“Vulnerability is the birthplace of love, belonging, joy, courage, empathy, and creativity. It is the source of hope, empathy, accountability, and authenticity. If we want greater clarity in our purpose or deeper and more meaningful spiritual lives, vulnerability is the path.”

IfsWantSpiritualJoyPurposeCreativityPathGreaterSourceEmpathyDeeperMeaningfulAuthenticityClarityVulnerabilityAccountabilityBelongingSpiritual LifeBirthplaceDaring Greatly
Book:Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead
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“Spirituality emerged as a fundamental guidepost in Wholeheartedness. Not religiosity but the deeply held belief that we are inextricably connected to one another by a force greater than ourselves--a force grounded in love and compassion. For some of us that's God, for others it's nature, art, or even human soulfulness. I believe that owning our worthiness is the act of acknowledging that we are sacred. Perhaps embracing vulnerability and overcoming numbing is ultimately about the care and feeding of our spirits.”

BelieveHumansArtCareSpiritSpiritualityBeliefForceI BelieveCompassionGreaterOvercomingFundamentalsSacredConnectedVulnerabilityGroundedFeedingWorthinessLove And CompassionNumbingWholeheartednessSoulfulness
Author:Brené Brown
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