--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Owning our story can be hard but not…" description: "\"Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it.\" — Brené Brown" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33c/bren-brown-280_difficult_owning-our-story-can-be-hard-but-not-nea_665006.jpg" --- # Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult… ![“Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it.” quote by Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33c/bren-brown-280_difficult_owning-our-story-can-be-hard-but-not-nea_665006.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33c/bren-brown-280_difficult_owning-our-story-can-be-hard-but-not-nea_665006.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33c/bren-brown-280_difficult_owning-our-story-can-be-hard-but-not-nea_665006.jpg) > “Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it.” [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Acknowledging personal narrative is challenging, yet confronting it is easier than living in denial. **In simple terms:** Facing our story is tough but better than avoidance. Key Takeaway Embrace your narrative instead of fleeing. Themes self-awareness vulnerability growth Mood reflective motivational Type inspirational self-help When to use this quote - therapy sessions - team building - personal coaching - public speaking Key Concepts psychology storytelling resilience Questions to Reflect On - What part of your story are you avoiding? - How could confronting it improve your life? A Different Perspective Avoiding the story can lead to unresolved trauma. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Infinite power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infinite-power/) [Inspiring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspiring/) [Owning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/owning/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Vulnerability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vulnerability/) ## Related quotes > [I now see how owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing that we will ever do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/i-now-see-how-owning-our-story-and-loving-ourselves-through-that/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [“Owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing we’ll ever do.” I still believe in this quote from two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/owning-our-story-and-loving-ourselves-through-that-process-is-the-2/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [Gratitude, being nearly the greatest of human duties, is also nearly the most difficult.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/gratitude-being-nearly-the-greatest-of-human-duties-is-also-nearly/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [It is terrifying to people when women step up and start owning the story that they have not owned. And I'm seeing so much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-palmer/it-is-terrifying-to-people-when-women-step-up-and-start-owning-the/) [Amanda Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-palmer/) > [Owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing that we will ever do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/owning-our-story-and-loving-ourselves-through-that-process-is-the/) [Brene Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/only-when-we-are-brave-enough-to-explore-the-darkness-will-we/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [“I was part of that strange race of people aptly described as spending their lives doing things they detest, to make money they don’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-gauvreau/i-was-part-of-that-strange-race-of-people-aptly-described-as-spending-2/) Emile Gauvreau > [“If the amount of times we get up is just one less than the amount of times that we've been knocked down, then we're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/if-the-amount-of-times-we-get-up-is-just-one-less-than-the-amount-of/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I cannot bear to think that our young men are merely living four years in a country club and spending their lives wholly in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-grier-hibben/i-cannot-bear-to-think-that-our-young-men-are-merely-living-four/) [John Grier Hibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-grier-hibben/) > [I was part of that strange race of people aptly described as spending their lives doing things they detest, to make money they don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-henry-gauvreau/i-was-part-of-that-strange-race-of-people-aptly-described-as-spending/) Emile Henry Gauvreau > [I don't actually care about anything. I do what I want when I want. People need to stop spending their whole lives trying to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-actually-care-about-anything-i-do-what-i-want-when-i-want/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I envision a world in which the vast majority of us are actively striving toward our potential as human beings by spending our lives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-matakas/i-envision-a-world-in-which-the-vast-majority-of-us-are-actively/) [Chris Matakas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-matakas/) > [We can't forever be spending our lives paying for political follies that never gave us anything but always took from us, and I amcontent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-zweig/we-can-t-forever-be-spending-our-lives-paying-for-political-follies/) [Stefan Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-zweig/) > [Too often we become so consumed with how we spend our days that we lose track of how we are spending our lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-warner/too-often-we-become-so-consumed-with-how-we-spend-our-days-that-we/) Sally Warner > [“Every picture tells a story. But sometimes it's hard to know what story is actually being told.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anastasia-hollings/every-picture-tells-a-story-but-sometimes-it-s-hard-to-know-what/) Anastasia Hollings ## More by Brené Brown > [We're raising children who have little tolerance for disappointment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/we-re-raising-children-who-have-little-tolerance-for-disappointment/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [“always put off writing by reorganizing my entire house and spending way too much time and money buying office supplies and organizing systems. Every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/always-put-off-writing-by-reorganizing-my-entire-house-and-spending/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [When you ask people about love, they tell you about heartbreak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/when-you-ask-people-about-love-they-tell-you-about-heartbreak/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [“I can recognize shame when it’s happening.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/i-can-recognize-shame-when-it-s-happening/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [I carry a small sheet of paper in my wallet that has written on it the names of people whose opinions of me matter.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/i-carry-a-small-sheet-of-paper-in-my-wallet-that-has-written-on-it/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [Courage starts with showing up and letting ourselves be seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/courage-starts-with-showing-up-and-letting-ourselves-be-seen/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [Waking up every day and loving someone who may or may not love us back, whose safety we can't ensure, who may stay in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/waking-up-every-day-and-loving-someone-who-may-or-may-not-love-us/) [Brene Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [“No matter how separated we are by what we think and believe, we are part of the same spiritual story.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/no-matter-how-separated-we-are-by-what-we-think-and-believe-we-are/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [Perfectionism is self-destructive simply because there is no such thing as perfect. Perfection is an unattainable goal. Additionally, perfectionism is more about perception -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/perfectionism-is-self-destructive-simply-because-there-is-no-such/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [Shame corrodes the very part of us that believes we are capable of change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/shame-corrodes-the-very-part-of-us-that-believes-we-are-capable-of/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [If you're also in the arena and you're putting your ideas out and you're owning them and you're saying "I disagree with you about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/if-you-re-also-in-the-arena-and-you-re-putting-your-ideas-out-and-you/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [“I found that men and women with high levels of shame resilience share these four elements: They understand shame and recognize what messages and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/i-found-that-men-and-women-with-high-levels-of-shame-resilience-share/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [Connection gives purpose and meaning to our lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/connection-gives-purpose-and-meaning-to-our-lives/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [“But here’s the tricky part about compassion and connecting: We can’t call just anyone. It’s not that simple. I have a lot of good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/but-here-s-the-tricky-part-about-compassion-and-connecting-we-can-t/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [“It turns out to be the place of true belonging, and it's the bravest and most sacred place you'll stand.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/it-turns-out-to-be-the-place-of-true-belonging-and-it-s-the-bravest/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) [Explore all 759 Brené Brown quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) ## More Difficult quotes > [Companies with cultures that celebrate diverse opinions and encourage the exchange of ideas have an advantage when solving difficult problems. A company that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-mcmillon/companies-with-cultures-that-celebrate-diverse-opinions-and-encourage/) [Doug McMillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-mcmillon/) > [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/) [Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/) > [Consumers can choose organic cotton grown without pesticides, but it uses more water and requires more land than conventional crops. Organic cotton can also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tatiana-schlossberg/consumers-can-choose-organic-cotton-grown-without-pesticides-but-it/) [Tatiana Schlossberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatiana-schlossberg/) > [It is extremely difficult to do anything constructive, let alone deep, on daily commercial television, especially on a talk show.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-prager/it-is-extremely-difficult-to-do-anything-constructive-let-alone-deep/) [Dennis Prager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-prager/) > [Having small children and being an investigative reporter would seem like a difficult mix, but it worked well for me. I was often working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-abramson/having-small-children-and-being-an-investigative-reporter-would-seem/) [Jill Abramson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-abramson/) > [It's only a little difficult to say no. You've got to believe that the work you're doing is ultimately more useful to the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-sivers/it-s-only-a-little-difficult-to-say-no-you-ve-got-to-believe-that-the/) [Derek Sivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-sivers/) > [How wonderful it would be, I thought, if only we could practice the teachings of the Buddha as he really taught them from his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/how-wonderful-it-would-be-i-thought-if-only-we-could-practice-the/) [Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/) > [It's difficult for people to come to the understanding that only a small minority of the people ever really get the word about life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/it-s-difficult-for-people-to-come-to-the-understanding-that-only-a/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [Lutherans, whose arguments and mistakes will not be difficult to contest or discover, do not want to attribute any value to works, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-servetus/lutherans-whose-arguments-and-mistakes-will-not-be-difficult-to/) [Michael Servetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-servetus/) > [My friends, this body - perhaps more than any other gathering in human history - now faces that difficult task.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/my-friends-this-body-perhaps-more-than-any-other-gathering-in-human/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [I want to make myself and the crowd happy by way of something different, and that makes things difficult. I'm never playing something that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiesto/i-want-to-make-myself-and-the-crowd-happy-by-way-of-something/) [Tiesto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiesto/) > [The surprise of an army is now next to an impossibility. ... Prearranged surprises are rare and difficult because in order to plan one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-henri-jomini/the-surprise-of-an-army-is-now-next-to-an-impossibility-prearranged/) [Antoine-Henri Jomini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-henri-jomini/) > [Politics only makes the difficult challenge of marriage even harder, with the demands of the job and the public spotlight it casts on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mckinnon/politics-only-makes-the-difficult-challenge-of-marriage-even-harder/) [Mark McKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mckinnon/) > [To explicate the uses of the Brain seems as difficult a task as to paint the Soul, of which it is commonly said, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-willis/to-explicate-the-uses-of-the-brain-seems-as-difficult-a-task-as-to/) [Thomas Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-willis/) > [Someone else who liked what I did might turn around and say, "She's reworking and rethinking everything. She could just be making blankets now,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracey-emin/someone-else-who-liked-what-i-did-might-turn-around-and-say-she-s/) [Tracey Emin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracey-emin/) Browse all 13,132 Difficult quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Brené Brown" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/owning-our-story-can-be-hard-but-not-nearly-as-difficult-as-spending/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Difficult" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/owning-our-story-can-be-hard-but-not-nearly-as-difficult-as-spending/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33c/bren-brown-280_difficult_owning-our-story-can-be-hard-but-not-nea_665006.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33c/bren-brown-280_difficult_owning-our-story-can-be-hard-but-not-nea_665006.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33c/bren-brown-280_difficult_owning-our-story-can-be-hard-but-not-nea_665006.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it.” — Brené Brown", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Brené Brown", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Owning our story can be hard...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/owning-our-story-can-be-hard-but-not-nearly-as-difficult-as-spending/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/owning-our-story-can-be-hard-but-not-nearly-as-difficult-as-spending/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```