Tag Archives: shame triggers

Brighter Life Bit #20: Moving from shame to guilt

ILF_Wtagline_LogoYou can listen to the original teaching at the 25 minute mark of the Class 3 recording. You can download the audio from iTunes here or from the ILF website here.

What if you are not actually experiencing shame?

Shame says “I am bad,” leading you to feeling powerless and invisible.

But what if what you are actually experiencing is guilt?

Guilt says “I have done something bad

This is a big difference. Shame makes you believe that you, as a person, are bad, while guilt shows the truth of the situation: you are a good person who has, at this certain point in time, done something bad.

Guilt can be a healthy emotion when used constructively to hold you accountable to the person you want to be. Guilt can guide you to see that you have done something bad, so you can make a commitment to not repeat the action.

Replacing shame with guilt, moving from “I am bad” to “I have done something bad” can guide you towards making positive change in your life.

In order to better understand guilt and how to replace shame with guilt you can:

  1. Write down some of your own reasons for feeling personal guilt.
  2. Write down times in your life when you have felt shame.
  3. Compare your “guilt list” to your “shame list.” Can you shift some of these shame experiences into guilt experiences?

What opens up for you as you make this shift from “I am bad” to “I have done something bad” Share your thoughts below:

Brighter Life Bit #18: Who and What causes you to feel Shame?

ILF_Wtagline_LogoYou can listen to the original teaching at the 3 minute mark of the Class 3 recording. You can download the audio from iTunes here or from the ILF website here.

Brene Brown defines shame as:

“an intensely painful feeling or experience of believing we are flawed and therefore unworthy of acceptance and belonging.”

Or, to put it even more succinctly:

“Shame says, ‘I am bad’.”

In what situations are you telling yourself “I am bad?”

What people in your life make you think “I am bad?”

Understanding the situations and people in your life that trigger thoughts of shame is an important step in building your shame resilience (we will discuss this more in the Class #4 Brighter Life Bits).

Take some time now to write out a list of the “what’s” and “who’s” that trigger feelings of “I am bad” in your life.

Then, you can share some of your list in the comments section below.

LABL 003: Letting Go – Uncover Your Self-Respect

Welcome to Episode #3 of the Live A Brighter Life Podcast!

In this episode of the Live A Brighter Life Podcast Indrani and Andrea discuss letting go. Specifically you will:

  • Define “shame”
  • Differentiate between shame, guilt, humiliation and embarrassment
  • Understand the dangers, irony, and contradictions of shame
  • Acknowledge triggers
  • Identify the sources of shame
  • Practice critical awareness

Resources

I Thought It Was Just Me by Brené Brown

Podcast Recording

[powerpress]