Brene talks about trust-building, not in the grand gestures, but in the many small, simple actions day after day. Reliability is indisputably connected to trust. I hadn’t consciously considered that I trusted him with my life. After demonstrating his infallible reliability, the thought of checking progress or needing to ask twice was never part of the conversation. “R”- RELIABILITY: You know that person in your life…the one who figures out a way to follow through no matter what is asked. In Play: “I will say “no” when I feel I need to and I am willing to respect and accept your “no” when you are employing your boundaries.” Sometimes the people we need to set boundaries with the most are the ones who don’t know or don’t respect the concept. “MOTHERS are EXACTLY the reason boundaries were invented.” “I AM YOUR MOTHER YOU DON’T SET BOUNDARIES WITH ME!” “Mum, I am just setting some boundaries with you.” (Insert long preceding angsty discussion, and then…) I decided to try it out on my mother and here is how the conversation went.

“B”- BOUNDARIES: I remember a time when the word “boundaries” was still new on everyone’s lips. What does Brene Brown’s BRAVING acronym stand for? I went and it was worth every single penny. The event was sold out, like immediately, and I believe I got the last remaining, insanely overpriced, back of the back balcony ticket available to all mankind. StubHub was my new best friend at that moment. I resonate most deeply with her calm and inviting presentation style and her ability to break down difficult and emotional subjects into chewable, digestible pieces. Since the first time I watched her TED talk, (that now has 44.5 million views, FYI) I have had the maddest brain-crush on her.

Now, who doesn’t have trust issues and who doesn’t love a good acronym?Īs I was prepared for a Microsoft presentation I gave a couple of years ago, I searched some of Brene’s BRAVING work to implement into my talk, and a ping came up telling me she was presenting in Seattle. In her book “Braving The Wilderness,” Brene Brown uses the word “BRAVING” as an acronym for defining and developing trust-filled relationships with everyone from kids to coworkers.

Braving the Wilderness by Brené Brown