Tag Archives: vulnerability

“If you want to avoid criticism, create less. If you want to avoid irrelevance, create more.”

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“If you want to avoid criticism, create less. If you want to avoid irrelevance, create more.”

—James Clear, American writer and speaker

Image from Unsplash by Jason Strull

To what degree are you a creator?

What do you and have you offered others over the years, and what feedback have you received?

Consider all the assignments you were given throughout your school years. In most cases you didn’t have the option of saying No without significant consequences.

How about your offerings on a vocational level in which some authority figure sets out the objective to be pursued?

What impact does your perspective of how others view your work have on your willingness to offer examples with your own initiative as the catalyst?

EXERCISE:

Where in your world do you withhold your creative efforts for fear of being criticized?

How would greater courage and a willingness to be vulnerable allow you to champion more of your ideas to make a bigger impact on the world?

Friday Review Vulnerability

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Friday Review: Vulnerability

How vulnerable are you? How do you react to vulnerability in others? Here are a few related posts you may have missed.

 

 

“You don’t protect your heart by acting like you don’t have one.”

 

 

 

“When you connect with people from the core, you learn a whole lot more.”

 

 

 

Vulnerability is a source of so many wonderful aspects of life. You must, however, let go to receive them.

 

 

 

 

Vulnerability is a source of so many wonderful aspects of life

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Vulnerability is a source of so many wonderful aspects of life. You must, however, let go to receive them.

—Calm App Reflection

Image from Unsplash by Dmitry Berdnyk

It’s counterintuitive that in order to receive what we want and need, we must let go of things we have. After all, if we hold on tightly to things, we get to keep what we have indefinitely.

What if we desire love, acceptance, adventure, and the feeling of belonging to our various communities?

What must we let go of to receive these very human desires?

What’s at risk when we desire the rewards of a full and happy life?

EXERCISE:

Where and how do you avoid the risks of being vulnerable?

How do you protect yourself from the bumps and bruises life can dish out?

Consider exploring the books and other works of Brene Brown to discover insights you may not have considered.

“People who need help sometimes look a lot like people who don’t need help.”

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“People who need help sometimes look a lot like people who don’t need help.”

—Glennon Doyle Melton, American author and activist

Image from Unsplash by Razvan Chisu

In my work as a coach, I’ve been most fortunate to work with many wonderful and highly successful people. On the outside, most of them present to the world an image of great achievement, self-sufficiency, and confidence.

Surprisingly, when allowed to dig below the surface many of them show their more vulnerable sides, revealing their need for assistance on various personal and professional levels.

Exercise:

Where and when do you sometimes present a “fake it to you make it” image to the world?

Where could you and others in your world need a helping hand that may not be readily apparent?

Who could you ask or offer this needed assistance?

when you connect with people

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“When you connect with people from the core, you learn a whole lot more.”

-Author Unknown

Image of people in a circle

Image from JumpCloud

Relationships and connecting with others are among the most valuable skills any of us can have. Books, blogs, podcasts, seminars, and other resources on this subject abound, yet most of us fall short of the level of excellence and mastery we desire.

Today’s quote points to the importance of experiencing one another at a far deeper level than many of us are willing to go. We’re afraid because of the level of openness and vulnerability inherent in the depths those relationships require.

EXERCISE:

How can and will you be more courageous to express your core beliefs, values, and emotions to deepen your most valued relationships?

“You don’t protect your heart by…”

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“You don’t protect your heart by acting like you don’t have one.”

— Author unknown

Image from abc.net.au

Image from abc.net.au

In my school days, I would often hear the phrase “Big boys don’t cry,” on the playground and in school. Being tough and strong were qualities associated with being a male in our society, even at an early age.

To achieve this outward persona, many boys began building shells—even fortresses—around themselves, so they could never be hurt, and never show what many considered the ultimate shame for a man: weakness.

Although this strategy may have provided some degree of protection against life’s bumps and bruises, it also imprisoned these boys in a world of limited connection. They were often removed from daily experiences of joy, happiness, and fulfilling relationships.

EXERCISE:

Should you see that you tend to use this strategy to protect your heart, take particular note of what it may be costing you as part of the fullest experience of life.

Consider reading the work of Brene Brown in such books as Daring Greatly, and The Gifts of Imperfection, to move yourself to what she refers to as a “guide to a wholehearted life.”

“Out of your vulnerabilities will come your strength.”

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“Out of your vulnerabilities will come your strength.”

-Sigmund Freud, Austrian neurologist and founder of psychoanalysis

Brené Brown, from her TED talk (see link below).

Brené Brown, from her TED talk (see link below).

In recent years, the subject of “vulnerability” has received a great deal of media coverage due to the work of authors such as Brené Brown.

In two of her recent books, The Gifts of Imperfection and Daring Greatly, which are based on considerable research, she clearly debunks the idea that vulnerability is weakness and indicates that it is far more correlated with courage and strength, as Freud suggests.

Exercise:

Where would being vulnerable in either your professional or personal life demonstrate the strength of your commitment to something of great importance to you?

Consider watching Brené Brown’s TED talk, The Power of Vulnerability