

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our Light, not our Darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you NOT to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightening about shrinking so that other people won’t feel unsure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. As we let our own Light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
― I Thought It Was Just Me: Women Reclaiming Power and Courage in a Culture of Shame
― I Thought It Was Just Me: Women Reclaiming Power and Courage in a Culture of Shame

“Courage is a heart word. The root of the word courage is cor - the Latin word for heart. In one of its earliest forms, the word courage meant "To speak one's mind by telling all one's heart." Over time, this definition has changed, and today, we typically associate courage with heroic and brave deeds. But in my opinion, this definition fails to recognize the inner strength and level of commitment required for us to actually speak honestly and openly about who we are and about our experiences -- good and bad. Speaking from our hearts is what I think of as "ordinary courage.”
― I Thought It Was Just Me: Women Reclaiming Power and Courage in a Culture of Shame
― I Thought It Was Just Me: Women Reclaiming Power and Courage in a Culture of Shame

“The biggest potential for helping us overcome shame is this: We are “those people.” The truth is…we are the others. Most of us are one paycheck, one divorce, one drug-addicted kid, one mental health illness, one sexual assault, one drinking binge, one night of unprotected sex, or one affair away from being “those people”–the ones we don’t trust, the ones we pity, the ones we don’t let our kids play with, the ones bad things happen to, the ones we don’t want living next door.”
― I Thought It Was Just Me (But It Isn't): Making the Journey from "What Will People Think?" to "I Am Enough"
― I Thought It Was Just Me (But It Isn't): Making the Journey from "What Will People Think?" to "I Am Enough"

“We cannot grow when we are in shame, and we can't use shame to change ourselves or others.”
― I Thought It Was Just Me: Women Reclaiming Power and Courage in a Culture of Shame
― I Thought It Was Just Me: Women Reclaiming Power and Courage in a Culture of Shame

“If we share our shame story with the wrong person, they can easily become one more piece of flying debris in an already dangerous storm.”
― The Gifts of Imperfection
― The Gifts of Imperfection

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