Brené Brown is a successful author and inspirational speaker, but even she isn't immune to social media haters.
While talking with Brown on this morning's show, TODAY's Hoda Kotb asked the podcaster if she lets negative comments on social media get to her.
"It depends on what day you ask me. Like when I'm in my kind of best self strength area I don't, and when I'm feeling tired and vulnerable and overwhelmed, I can be in tears," she said.
Despite potential backlash from online trolls, Brown admitted that she still posts what she wants to because not doing so is sometimes more painful for her.
"The only regret I've ever had on social media ever was not posting something out of fear of what other people thought. You can't break my heart on social media, but I can break my heart on social media," she said. "I've got to do my thing and invite other people to do theirs."
Brown, who just released a special 10th-anniversary hardcover edition of her book “The Gifts of Imperfection,” also gave Hoda a bit of insight into the minds of online critics.
"We judge in areas where we feel the most vulnerable to shame, so when people are judging us, that's about their fear and their stuff," she said. "And I know it's so hard and sometimes I just have to put myself into a trance and do it but I've gotten to the point in my life where betraying myself to make other people feel comfortable has got too high of a price for me."
While reflecting on the tough times we're all navigating this year, Brown said things feel "messy" and "hard" right now.
"This is a collective vulnerability experience, so I think talking about that in those terms and being honest about what's going on is so important," she said.
Brown, whose TED Talk "The Power of Vulnerability" has over 45 million views, also touched on the topic of perfectionism and said that there's a huge difference between striving for excellence and trying to be perfect.
"Perfectionism is absolutely driven by the fear of shame, blame, criticism and ridicule. Perfectionism becomes, I call it the '20 ton shield.' If I'm perfect, I can minimize or reduce feelings of shame and judgment and criticism," she said.
Still, she encouraged everyone to avoid the temptation of trying to be perfect.
"Really, what that shield does, of perfectionism, is it just keeps us from being seen. And being seen and loved and known is the only reason we're all here, so perfectionism is dangerous and I speak from experience, sisters," she said.