If you haven’t read Brene Brown’s book Daring Greatly, you are missing out. It was hands down THE most influential book that I read in 2013…to the point where it has created changes in my behavior in several aspects of my life. It’s all about embracing vulnerability and imperfection and living wholeheartedly in a world full of disconnection that is longing for connection. I’m not going to go in-depth on the book in this post but just read some of these quotes from Daring Greatly on Good Reads and feel the power in those words. LOVE.
I wanted to share one takeaway from the book that has totally changed the way I interact with others lately.
I make a conscious effort to put down my iPhone and make eye contact with people when I’m being helped at the bank, going through a drive thru, checking out at the grocery store, etc.
In her book Brene Brown writes,
“Recently, on my way home, I stopped at Barnes & Noble to pick up a magazine. The woman ahead of me in line bought two books, applied for a new “reader card,” and asked to get one book gift-wrapped without getting off her cell phone. She plowed through the entire exchange without making eye contact or directly speaking to the young woman working at the counter. She never acknowledged the presence of the human being across from her.
After leaving the Barnes & Noble, I went to a drive-through fast food restaurant to get a Diet Dr. Pepper. Right as I pulled up to the window, my cell phone rang. I wasn’t quite sure, but I thought it might be (my son) Charlie’s school calling, so I answered it. It wasn’t the school–it was someone calling to confirm an appointment. I got off the phone as soon as I could. In the short time it took me to say, ‘Yes, I’ll be at my appointment,’ the woman in the window and I had finished our soda-for-money transaction. I said, ‘I’m so sorry. The phone rang right when I was pulling up and I thought it was my son’s school.’ I must have surprised her because she got huge tears in her eyes and said, ‘Thank you. Thank you so much. You have no idea how humiliating it is sometimes. They don’t even see us.’”
That passage from the book has stuck with me for months now and I now go out of my way to not only put my phone away but to ask the person how their day is going. And it feels really, really nice.
Have you read Daring Greatly? Are you guilty of phone disconnection?
I will randomly gift a copy of Daring Greatly on Audible to someone who leaves a comment on this post (that hasn’t read it) GAME CHANGER.
