It’s OK to be vulnerable

I am a people person. I enjoy talking to people and ask  how their life is going. Many times it’s very simple answers and they don’t always seem to be true. I can ask someone how they are and they say “good” when they clearly are not. There seems to be a stigma around being vulnerable. Although sometimes you just don’t feel like sharing there are many times where people feel like they have to have thick skin no matter what. There seems to be this idea that we have to have our walls built super high and we can’t just be frank and honest with one another. 

Many times people don’t want to be vulnerable. People think if they are honest or show some sort of emotion in a situation it is a bad thing. But people can show emotion and it simply be seen as they care. But unfortunately that is not how most of society thinks. Vulnerability also seems to be thought of as showing or expressing something that is close to you. Even though being vulnerable is just being honest and courageous when others are not. Some people want to seem indestructible when they don’t put their emotions and true self on the line. They want to keep this nice shiny shell on the outside when on the inside it is quite the contrary. But I’d like to clear something up for everyone. Being vulnerable is being courageous. 

With that said being vulnerable is an extremely hard thing. Since we think of social interactions more times than not when it comes to being vulnerable, there is this fear that goes with it. That fear can stop you from sharing your true thoughts, but it is very beneficial. For me I found four major benefits of being vulnerable. Each one respectively helped build you into being a better more well rounded person.

First, it helps build your relationships. Whether they are friendships, romantic relationships, or with anyone in your life. Being vulnerable allows you to be your true self around other people and they will recognize that. When you are honest and show them how you really feel about something it helps weave that relationship a little tighter.

Second, it helps you increase your self-worth. Instead of feeling like you have to bottle everything up you share your emotions. When you start to do this more often the thought of being vulnerable isn’t that scary. 

Third, it is a motivator and helps you innovate. When you take that risk of being vulnerable really wonderful works and partnerships can come out of it. It shows that you are courageous enough to put something out in the open and that can really spark something.

Fourth and finally, it helps you have compassion. You will not always be the only one being vulnerable. When you aren’t, you need to be able to recognize it and show compassion to that person. They are being courageous and showing a piece of themselves they might have been scared to. You have to be able to show compassion and show empathy. You would want someone to do the same for you if you were in that situation. So try to be mindful next time someone seems to be telling a personal story or looks nervous about speaking about something. You don’t know the kind of courage it took for them to do that. If you take one thing away from this, I hope that it’s recognizing that vulnerability is not a bad thing but in fact it is courageous.