★ Over 2 million copies sold worldwide
★ Amazon's bestseller in the "Interpersonal Relationships" category for 10 consecutive years
★ A masterpiece by Brené Brown, the leading authority on 'vulnerability' research

“How the courage to be yourself can change your life.”
The Psychology of Courage in the Face of Shame, Anxiety, and Obsession

Brené Brown is a psychologist who has been studying negative emotions that plague modern people, such as shame, anxiety, and obsession, for over 20 years, and is a leading authority on the study of 'vulnerability'.
In psychology, vulnerability means 'the fear of uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure.'
His masterpiece, "The Mask of the Heart," is a masterpiece that argues how the courage to reveal vulnerability can make us stronger on the inside.
Since its first publication in the United States, this book has sold over 2 million copies worldwide and has been a long-term bestseller on Amazon for 10 consecutive years.

In this book, he explains that a vicious cycle occurs in which people constantly try to hide their vulnerabilities, which only makes them suffer more from shame and anxiety, and that the way to relieve these negative emotions is to boldly reveal one's vulnerabilities.
To arrive at these conclusions, he interviewed over 1,300 people of diverse genders, ages, and nationalities, collected and studied over 10,000 cases, and poured the entire process and results into this book.
The core message of "The Mask of the Heart" is that if you acknowledge and reveal your vulnerabilities, you will be immune to attacks such as shame, anxiety, and obsession.
This book will uncover the many voices that cast a shadow over us, and give you the courage to boldly face the world.
Let's cultivate the 'courage to reveal our vulnerability' and step confidently into the world.

'Perfection' and 'flawless' are tempting words, but they don't exist in our lives.
We must absolutely step into the stadium.
Here, the arena could be a new relationship, an important meeting, an awkward conversation with family, or a creative project.
No matter what, stepping into the arena requires the will and courage to participate.
Instead of sitting in the stands and spouting criticism and advice, we must boldly walk into the middle of the stadium and show ourselves to the people.
To boldly jump in, that is the courage to reveal vulnerability.
---From page 7, “Entering - Take off the ‘mask of the heart’ that hides you and boldly jump into the world”

Living a life of wholehearted dedication means actively jumping into the world based on your belief in your own worth.
It's about having courage and empathy, connecting with people, and waking up every morning thinking, "I am good enough."
It affirms me, no matter how much I have accomplished or how much I have not accomplished.
And as I go to bed at night, I think to myself:
'Yes, I am an imperfect and vulnerable being.
Sometimes I'm afraid of things, but that doesn't change the truth that I'm a brave person.
I am worthy of love and acceptance.'
---From "Pages 15-16, 〈Prologue - How does the courage to show myself change life?"

“When I, and countless others, wake up in the morning, the first thought is, ‘I didn’t get enough sleep.’
The second thought is, 'I don't have enough time.'
The thought "it's not enough" automatically pops into our heads before we even check or question its truth.
We spend most of our waking hours listening, explaining, complaining, and worrying about not having enough of something.
Before we even get out of bed, before our feet touch the floor, we are already problematic, inferior, and lacking.
Even when I go to bed, my mind is a jumble of things I didn't get and things I didn't finish that day.
We fall asleep carrying these thoughts like a burden, and wake up with the afterimage of that feeling of inadequacy.
(…) This ‘inner lack’ keeps us alive amidst our jealousy, greed, prejudices and struggles with life.”
---From "Pages 35-36, Chapter 1 - The Source of the Inescapable Sense of Deficiency"

People often think of vulnerability as being similar to 'weakness', but this is a huge misconception.
(…) vulnerability is neither good nor bad in itself.
Being vulnerable isn't necessarily a "dark emotion," but it's not always a light and positive experience either.
Vulnerability is at the core of all emotions and feelings.
To feel something is to be vulnerable.
Shutting out our emotions because we worry the price we'll pay is too high, and we're distancing ourselves from the only thing that gives life purpose and meaning.
The reason we dislike vulnerability is because we associate it with dark emotions like fear, shame, sadness, worry, and disappointment.
We don't like to talk about dark emotions.
But dark emotions also have a profound impact on life, love, work, and leadership.
People don't realize it yet, but after more than a decade of research, I've discovered that vulnerability is the cradle of the emotions and experiences we crave.
Vulnerability is the source of love, belonging, joy, courage, empathy, and creativity.
Vulnerability breeds hope, empathy, responsibility, and authenticity.
If you want to clarify your life's purpose and make your spiritual world more profound and meaningful, the answer lies in vulnerability.
---From "Chapter 2 - What We Misunderstand About Vulnerability" on pages 45-46

We all know how painful it is to feel shame.
What we don't realize is that causing shame in others is just as painful, and that our spouses and parents are the ones who can most accurately trigger our shame.
Our spouses and parents are the people who know us best and have witnessed our vulnerabilities and fears.
It's a good thing you can apologize when you've embarrassed someone you love.
But honestly, words that cause shame leave a lasting scar.
Exposing the vulnerabilities of those we love and causing shame is seriously destructive to the stability of the relationship.
Even if you apologize, trust is greatly damaged.
Because it showed that information that only they knew could be used as a weapon.
---From "Page 139, Chapter 3 - How to Deal with Shame"

From now on, I will introduce three types of armor under the name of 'Universal Vulnerability Weapons'.
We all wear our own armor.
One of those armors is joy blocking, an ironic fear that suppresses momentary joy.
Another is perfectionism, which thinks that if you do everything perfectly, you won't feel shame, and the final armor is numbing yourself into accepting anything that will eliminate pain and discomfort.
I'll go through these three shields one by one and then offer some bold strategies to counter each one.
These strategies are all variations of the "I am enough" mindset and have been proven effective in freeing us from the three armors of the mind.
---From "Page 154, Chapter 4 - Throwing Off the Armor of the Mind"

We must pay attention to the gap between who we are now and who we want to be in the future.
And above all, we must personally practice the values ​​that are important in our culture.
To become aware of the gap, we must embrace our own vulnerability and develop shame resilience.
Going forward, as leaders, parents, and educators, we will be asked to present ourselves in unfamiliar and uncomfortable ways.
It doesn't have to be perfect.
We just need to actively participate and work to align our values ​​with our actions.
You also need to be prepared.
Because the gremlins will attack us with all their might.
The moment we step onto the playing field, the moment we embrace vulnerability and seize opportunity, gremlins like to creep out.
---From "Pages 236-237, Chapter 5 - Recognizing the Gap Between Reality and Ideals"

Shame breeds fear.
Shame reduces our ability to tolerate vulnerability, which ultimately destroys engagement, innovation, creativity, productivity, and trust.
There are worse things.
If you don't even know what you're looking for, shame can wreak havoc on your organization before any signs of trouble are even noticed.
Shame operates like a swarm of termites in a house.
They live in the dark behind walls, slowly eating away at the foundation of the house.
Then one day, the stairs suddenly break.
Only then do we realize that it is only a matter of time before the walls crumble.
Just as you wouldn't notice termites if you just walked around your house without a second thought, there's no guarantee that a shame problem will be discovered if you take a quick walk around your office or school.
In fact, we would hope that the problem was not so obvious.
If you immediately notice a manager harshly scolding an employee or a teacher humiliating a student, there's a good chance that the organization already has serious problems and has been having them for a long time.
If that's not the case, we should examine our organization for signs of possible shame problems.
---From "Pages 246-247, Chapter 6 - Becoming a Bold Leader"

As parents, we don't have as much control over temperament and personality as we think.
We may not be responding as well as we would like to the message that 'it's never enough'.
But on the other hand, there are opportunities to be good parents.
All we need to do is help children understand and utilize their innate personalities and feel grateful for them.
We need to foster resilience in our children amidst the constant barrage of messages that say, "It's never enough."
If we want to teach our children to boldly venture into the world, living with the message that "it's never enough," the question we need to ask ourselves is not, "Am I doing a good job as a parent?"
You should ask yourself, “Do I want my child to grow up to be like me?”

---From "Page 284, Chapter 7 - What Kind of Adult Do I Want My Child to Become?"