Why be vulnerable - part II

Why be vulnerable - part II

https://intentioninspired.com/why-i-choose-to-be-vulnerable/

I’m exploring vulnerability for a few days - in conjunction with Daring Greatly, a book by Brene Brown.  Seemingly we GROW when we are tender hearted and open to being vulnerable.

Back to the dictionary “susceptible to physical or emotional attack or harm.

"we were in a vulnerable position"

Obviously, we are not directly looking at physical attack or harm - but that vulnerability does exist - especially for husbands (or males) attacking wives (or women).  And, we are not writing about being vulnerable in bridge - which is defined as: “liable to higher penalties, either by convention or through having won one game toward a rubber.”.  

Yesterday we covered the first point in the linked article: “Being vulnerable helps difficult emotions fade easily.

Today, let’s go farther.

2. Being vulnerable gives us authenticity, magnetism, and success.

The article states: “Vulnerability allows us to dig deep within and discover the true essence that we are. We get to take a really good look at our inner workings and decipher what our strengths and weaknesses are. “

“This authenticity and purity of spirit is like a great, big energy magnet. People feel attracted to a powerful person who is REAL. And all our power lies in being real: in being who we truly are.”

Huh?  What are we looking at?  Authenticity, magnetism and success!!!

In Daring Greatly, Brene Brown mentions a childhood classic - the Velveteen Rabbit. In that book, a toy rabbit,  who eventually becomes ‘real’. The boy who loves his rabbit helps the rabbit to overcome weaknesses and become real.

As the boy in the story loved the rabbit, the velveteen rabbit got to be worn and dirty.  The boy gets sick and the Velveteen Rabbit is tossed aside as it possibly full of germs and is falling apart.  The boy gets sicker until the boy is allowed to love and hug his rabbit.  

“Bullied from all directions, the Rabbit learned to ignore the people who hated him and to value his friendships with the Boy and the Skin Horse. Listening to the people who matter and tuning out the rest isn't just a valuable life lesson; it's a survival skill.”

I have ‘warts” and “shortcomings”.  We all do. I’m not perfect. I all too frequently have “blinders” on - blinders like they put on horses so they don’t see what is happening around and behind them.  I don’t always see the ‘forest for the trees’. But, that doesn’t mean that I don’t want to see the forest. I am just a human with my own foibles and failures!!!

I want to think that makes me “authentic”.  Again using a computer term: WYSIWYG - What you see is what you get.  I generally don’t put on ‘airs’ and pretend that I’m a big shot. (I used to be a big shot - in my mind anyway!!).

Does that make me magnetic?  Not that I know of - but I do have friends (like many of my readers here), that seem to like and appreciate me.  

So, day two of why we should be vulnerable - part of being ‘real’.  Like the Velveteen Rabbit, we can be worn, missing some stitches here and there, with our pretend fur rubbing off, and we are real - and not phoneys!!!

Can I be ‘real’ to you?  Are you ‘real’ to me? 

I hope this is helpful!!!

More on vulnerability tomorrow!!

Hugs!!

Karen