A hard thing to think about may be our vulnerability. What do you think of when the word pops up? I used to think of humiliation, defenseless, and being exposed. Which in a sense is true, but not for the reasons we think. There are two main definitions for vulnerable. Capable of or susceptible to being wounded or hurt, as by a weapon or actions, and open to moral attack, temptation, etc. Do these define you?
The fact is that we are a vulnerable, literally. And whether we like it or not, it's not a bad thing. We can connect our vulnerability to being afraid, weak, or defenseless and that can hold you back. You numb yourself from other feelings when you try to deny and end your vulnerability. You can also be the type of vulnerable that accepts the fact and moves on. You know that you're more open to people judging you, but also experiencing more things. Brene Brown has a 20-minute video discussing The Power of Vulnerability (name of the video) and what it means. Brown talks about her own personal fight with her vulnerability and what she learned from her research. She asked her Twitter followers what it meant to them, to be vulnerable and they in turn gave a slew of answers. Many of the answers are things we deal with everyday but don't usually categorize as "vulnerable"
The answer were along the lines of "Asking my new husband for help when I was sick," "Asking my boyfriend about his sexual preferences," and the other way around, "Getting the call from the doctors," "Being laid off," as well as laying someone off. Brown named the folder of these people that didn't name vulnerability as bad, nor good, the "Wholehearted Ones." They got that you need to be vulnerable to make necessary connections in life.
Connections help us to understand, give purpose, and meaning to our lives. We need the connections our openness gives us for relationships with friends, family, co-workers, and significant others. It's a lot to change but to grasp a simple understanding of such is a huge step into living with an easier aspect on how to live life. I can admit when things aren't going well or need to change. I admit my feelings and thoughts, and put myself out there to whatever may happen. With doing that, I do make myself vulnerable. People have an easier chance at judging me and making accusations of how I am or treat people.
The fact is, you can either accept that we are vulnerable or not. We can understand that not everything is "perfect" and that is okay. Vulnerability isn't good or bad but a daily necessity.
