Josh's Weekly Insights - July 15, 2026

“Guilt is just as powerful, but its influence is positive, while shame's is destructive. Shame erodes our courage and fuels disengagement.”

-Brene Brown

I have read a lot about “clean fuel” versus “dirty fuel” when exploring motivations for why humans behave as we do. The interesting thing is that they are often near the same zip code within us. For example, in the quote above, guilt is not very far from shame in our minds but the way we respond is very different.

With guilt, we feel bad and there should be an internal sense to want to correct what occurred. However, with shame there is an embarrassment and desire to hide or avoid negative outcomes. One is constructive while the other breaks us down. If we fly right past guilt and travel into shame territory, we have missed the opportunity for growth and development.

It is a lesson I have been working on a ton with my six-year-old son. When he gets in trouble, we have a tendency to show shame. This means he is prone to repeating the same mistake because there was no commitment to improve. Our current work together is to avoid just apologizing (very hollowly I will add as a sometimes-frustrated parent) and identify what occurred to create the behavior and how we will avoid it in the future.

Even as adults, I think we can all remember moments where we fell into the shame trap. It may have been something simple or something challenging, but we missed on it. Then we felt too embarrassed to own it, look ourselves, our colleagues, or loved ones in the eye and say, “Here’s how I will do better next time.” Honestly, this helps me avoid a lot of shame because I am more ashamed to make the same mistake twice.

So here is my encouragement for the week. Don’t be afraid to be human because mistakes are part of growth and the human experience. However, when they occur be prepared to own them and recognize the opportunity to improve. Do that and you will keep getting better every day. Try to hide from it and you will keep running the same circle right back to the spot you are in.

Now get out there and crush your week!