Bravery and Fear

In the Dare to Lead, Brené Brown gives us the arena metaphor to talk about anything we do that leads to vulnerability (uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure). When we look out into the crowd, there are two sections of the arena to think about - the critic and support sections.

Critic Section

In the critic section, we see the Cheap Seats. People who occupy these seats rarely step into the arena but have lots of judgment, advice, and criticism. This noise comes from people that don’t know you or the type of work you do. Then, we have the Season Ticket Holders of shame, scarcity, and comparison. We may stop hustling for validation from these seats, but the inner critic is always working hard to seduce us into choosing comfort over courage. 

 Last but not least are the fancy Box Seats. These reservations belong to those who built the arena for people who look and sound like them. These represent systemic issues around race, gender, and class. They determine our odds for success based on stereotypes, misinformation, and fear.  

Support Section

The two most important seats belong to empathy and self-compassion. You only need one person in an Empathy Seat to support and show empathy when you are being brave. And you choose if you will sit in the Self-Compassion Seat and treat yourself with the same kindness and love that you'd give your best friend. We all encounter frustrations and failure. It is the human condition that we are honoring when we honor ourselves. 

 What keeps you from entering the arena? What seat do you sit in?

We can be brave and afraid at the same time.

 If you have an arena moment to prepare for or you enter the arena every day as a leader, let's talk about how we can be in your support section.