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INTRODUCTION
In The Gifts of Imperfection, I defined ten “guideposts” for Wholehearted living that point to what the Wholehearted work to cultivate and what they work to let go of:
- Cultivating Authenticity: Letting Go of What People Think
- 2. Cultivating Self-Compassion: Letting Go of Perfectionism
- Cultivating a Resilient Spirit: Letting Go of Numbing and Powerlessness
- Cultivating Gratitude and Joy: Letting Go of Scarcity and Fear of the Dark
- Cultivating Intuition and Trusting Faith: Letting Go of the Need for Certainty
- Cultivating Creativity: Letting Go of Comparison
- Cultivating Play and Rest: Letting Go of Exhaustion as a Status Symbol and Productivity as Self-Worth
- Cultivating Calm and Stillness: Letting Go of Anxiety as a Lifestyle
- Cultivating Meaningful Work: Letting Go of Self-Doubt and “Supposed To”
- Cultivating Laughter, Song, and Dance: Letting Go of Being Cool and “Always in Control”
Wholehearted living is about engaging in our lives from a place of
worthiness. It means cultivating the courage, compassion, and connection to
wake up in the morning and think, No matter what gets done and how much
is left undone, I am enough.
Fundamental ideals:
- Love and belonging are irreducible needs of all men, women, and children.
- Those who feel lovable, who love, and who experience belonging simply believe they are worthy of love and belonging.
- A strong belief in our worthiness doesn’t just happen—it’s cultivated
- The main concern of Wholehearted men and women is living a life defined by courage, compassion, and connection.
- The Wholehearted identify vulnerability as the catalyst for courage, compassion, and connection.
Imperfect parenting moments turn into gifts as our children watch us try to figure out what went wrong and how we can do better next time.
Perfection doesn’t
exist, and I’ve found that what makes children happy doesn’t always prepare them to be courageous, engaged adults.
What we know matters, but who we are matters more.
The first step of that journey (to dare greatly, to be vulnerable) is understanding where we are, what we’re up against, and where we need to go.