A Wholehearted Inventory
A no-pressure mini series of The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown with loads of encouragement, realness, and joy.
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“Revolution might sound a little dramatic, but in this world, choosing authenticity and worthiness is an absolute act of resistance.” - Brené Brown
Hello.
It started before Christmas— signals from my body in the form of a red, inflamed, mystery rash, then a sinus infection, minor ailments that point to an underlying sense of fatigue and missing vitality. Now, I’m seven tabs deep, trying to figure out if I have something called copper overload, puzzling together the missing pieces of my health.
If I’m honest, I’ve felt the undercurrent for a long time.
Maybe you have, too.
The cumulative effects of burnout from a helping career or caregiving roles. The collective grief of a global pandemic, personal loss, social uprisings, and yet more war.
Our bodies and hearts have held so much, are carrying more than we know how to carry.
When I met my first major health challenge at the age of 24, I’d never experienced being chronically unwell before. I learned from that moment on to see any dis-ease my body presented with as a message. A call toward compassionate curiosity and my full attention.
I’d already planned to share the Wholehearted Inventory practice from Brené Brown’s The Gifts of Imperfection with you, now it seems especially timely.
What does it mean to be wholehearted? To live a wholehearted life?
For me, it means prioritizing my values- being generous with my time, knowledge, and resources. It’s honoring my body and the wisdom it contains. It’s showing up as my real self, messy, imperfect (often impatient), and trusting that I am meant to be exactly who I am, right now, not some idealized future version.
What does it mean for you?
Brené defines wholehearted living as:
“Engaging in our lives from a place of worthiness. 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…Yes, I am imperfect and vulnerable and sometimes afraid, but that doesn’t change the truth that I am also brave and worthy of love and belonging.”
In her book, she outlines ten guideposts for wholehearted living framed as “Letting go of…” and “Cultivating…” In fact, I have a printout hanging above my desk. (You can get the free download + artwork here).
Which one sticks out to you the most? Is there one that makes your soul sing or makes you squirm uncomfortably in your seat?
I chose the word Nourish for my year and then immediately went and made lists of personal and professional goals ten miles long. Yet, this is the nourishment my soul is calling for, the lens through which I want to see the world and myself.
Burnout, illness, and violence don’t happen in isolation. But neither do healing, repair, or regeneration.
Starting this Sunday (Jan 21st), we’re going to map our way back to wholeness, together.
I hope that by exploring the framework of wholeheartedness through The Gifts of Imperfection, we can learn how to tend to our minds, bodies, and hearts with tenderness. We can feed our spirits, create rituals and communities that sustain us, and foster resilience and well-being through connection.
Think of it like a no-pressure book club with loads of encouragement, realness, and joy.
Here’s what you can expect:
I’ll begin going through each guidepost, weekly or bi-weekly, sharing where I’m at on my journey and how I’m integrating the lessons.
Using skills I’ve learned as a certified functional medicine health coach, I’ll demonstrate how to use our strengths and life experience to create change we can sustain instead of resolutions we break.
Each post will have a link to the relevant podcast episode where Brené talks through each guidepost with her sisters in a fun and meaningful conversation.
You don’t have to read the book to participate. You can join anytime or skip a guidepost and read the next one. There’s absolutely no obligation or commitment. It’s totally free.
Resources for your journey
I highly recommend taking the free Wholehearted Inventory. It’s a way of “checking your gas tank” and tuning in to your energy levels, vitality, and soul alignment. I’ll be sharing my results with you each week so there’s total transparency!
Take the free Character Strengths Assessment. As a health coach, I learned the importance of playing to our strengths when making any adjustments or changes in our lives and I love having access to the specific (science-based!) character strengths unique to me.
Listen to The Gifts of Imperfection intro podcast. I have two sisters, so listening to Brene and her sisters joke around while also discussing hard topics like family trauma is so relatable.
Borrow The Gifts of Imperfection from your library, find a used copy at your local bookstore, or pick up a brand-new one.
A collective playlist for healing + love. I’ll keep adding to it during our journey. To contribute your favorite songs, click here!
I hope you’ll join me in remembering and returning to our Wholeness.
Next week, we’ll begin with Letting go of exhaustion as a status symbol and productivity as self-worth and Cultivating rest & play because it’s the intervention I need most.
If you know of a friend (or two!) who might benefit from this series, send them a warm invitation to join a community of messy humans learning how to show up and love ourselves (with heaps of grace for the times we don’t).
All of mine to you,
Mariah
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