I had to schedule myself to write this post. Even as I’m sitting here now I keep thinking of reasons why something else might be easier or more fun to write. But I made a commitment to myself to talk with you about this. About Vulnerability. So here it is, in stream of consciousness, me being vulnerable, living wide open here for you.
Its kinda a catch phrase these days, vulnerability. Brene Brown cracked open a global conversation with her book and her TED talk. Amanda Palmer pushed the conversation forward with The Art of Asking. But what does that mean for you and for me?
Well, technically it means it should be a lot easier to talk about being vulnerable. But practically we know that’s just not true.
But what I also know is that if I don’t challenge myself to be vulnerable, I’ll never take any risks, I’ll never learn anything. And worst of all, I’ll never create or share my art.
So while I know it’s scary and it might hurt, I wanna live wide open. I wanna live in trust and share my true self. I don’t want to be limited by the safe option… I don’t wanna hide myself, hide my art, silence my own voice out of fear that someone might disapprove.
That’s what being vulnerable is. It’s taking the parts of you that you’re insecure about, the true and authentic you that you’re hiding and hoping no one will find out about, and it’s putting those bits into the light to be seen and to be shared. It’s allowing yourself to speak, to have opinions, to take up space. Your voice is important, even, no especially if it’s different from everyone else’s.
And let’s face it, it’s easier to share, easier to live authentically, than it is to hide. When you’re hiding, you always have to keep up the facade. You can’t ever let your guard down… But when you allow yourself to be you, you can let go of the personas and the mental barriers and filters that you put up. You can just be you…
You can stop living in fear of what people will think if they know who you are, or how to keep them in your life once they discover. Those people aren’t worth your time anyhow. Spend your time and energy loving people who freely and gladly love you back. You’re worth that. And you’ll find those people much more easily if you’re just being yourself.
Also, when you’re being vulnerable, living Wide Open, you can grow! When you hide, when you’re closed off, you limit your potential. But when you open yourself up, when you live life Wide Open, you give yourself space to grow. You’ll be surprised at how quickly you can fill the space you give yourself to just be in.
Trust me. It’s beautiful. It’s freeing. And you’ll never want to go back. Not that you could if you tried. Living Wide Open, choosing vulnerability, it will change you forever.
Now, just because choosing to be vulnerable is easier than choosing to close yourself off doesn’t mean it’s easy. It’s HARD! It takes pain and effort and it’s counter-intuitive. Not to mention, it’s hard to be vulnerable when you don’t have a support network, even if it’s only one person… but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t do it. It just means that you have to be braver than some others.
We can do this. We can be brave. We can live wide open, trusting the universe for what we need.
If you are reading this post right now and you are thinking how scary it would be to take the leap, to put yourself out there for the world to see, and you need a little encouragement, post a comment with your email address. I’ll send you a boost. Because I believe in you!