I want to invite you to look at vulnerability from a completely different perspective from how you may usually think about it.
Do you struggle to be vulnerable because you think of it as a weakness?
There is an increasing awareness about the power of vulnerability. One of the top 10 most watched TED talks in the world is the Ted Talk about vulnerability by Brene Brown. Brene is a social researcher with the University of Houston who has researched and written extensively about vulnerability among other things.
Brene Says “Our willingness to own and engage with our vulnerability determines the depth of our courage and the clarity of our purpose; the level to which we protect ourselves from being vulnerable is a measure of our fear and disconnection.” Brene Brown – Daring Greatly
It’s in our vulnerability that we are our most real and authentic. The raw, honesty expressed in vulnerability is when you allow others to see the real you – to see into your heart– to the core of you.
Allowing your true self to be seen is actually an act of tremendous courage. When you truly own who you are and what you feel, and you share that – you take an emotional risk.
I encourage you to be open to the possibility that your vulnerability is actually the place of your greatest strength. Being vulnerable takes courage. But the effort is worth it. If you want to achieve what you really want in life, if you want genuine connection with people – there is usually a risk.
To love someone is to be vulnerable. To say I love you first is to be vulnerable.
To leave a job and start a business is to be vulnerable.
To feel is to be vulnerable.
To shut down on our emotional life out of fear that the cost will be too high is to walk away from the very things that give purpose and meaning to living. If we are never vulnerable – if we stay safe – if we risk nothing – we live a life half lived.
To keep the mask on – means true connection is lost. People connect to the you that you allow them to see. But is that the real you? So many of us fear that if we truly allow ourselves to be seen for the truth of who we are – we will be rejected. What price then is acceptance when we have to be false to achieve it?
If we want to reclaim the essential emotional part of our lives and reignite our passion and purpose, we have to learn to feel the emotions that come with it.
Yes we are exposed when we are vulnerable – we are in that painful state of uncertainty and yes, we take a huge emotional risk when we allow ourselves to be vulnerable. But there’s no equation where taking risks, braving uncertainty, and opening ourselves up to emotional exposure equals weakness.
What is the price if you never allow yourself to be vulnerable?
