The Power of Vulnerability

I woke up this morning with a profound shift. It was something I experienced that made me realize, there was a great lesson for me to learn.

My family upbringing was about hard work and showing your value through achievements (talk about pressure). I was not handed things and my parents were their happiest when I was a good little girl. All my life, I lived by that standard (well, there was a rebellious phase, but let’s talk about that later), be a good little girl.

As much inner work I’ve done, I thought I had gotten rid of all the “I must be perfect” stuff. But OOOOOH… did it rear its ugly head once more.

I was with amazing strong businesswomen and I came from the corporate world so it seemed fitting to join this networking event. Who knows, I might meet an awesome friend (which I did) or someone who would love to learn more about Relationship Coaching.

What I found is all these insecurities started coming up for me. I could hear the voices in my head say “I’m not good enough”, “What the hell am I doing here?”, and the real AWESOME one… “What if they get to know me and they don’t like me?”

UGH! What the heck?! I mean these were the same voices I heard when I was single and dating. I really thought I had banished all of them!

I found myself in a negative space and my authentic self wasn’t showing up. Instead, I suited up into my protective armor (that’s how I always knew how to survive). By the way, I almost went into that negative bashing space, but the Coach in me said.. “WAIT a minute here, is this about them or REALLY about you?”

I picked up the phone called my awesome friend Mimi (she is an amazing coach for coaches) and shared my mental block with her. I immediately said “What the heck is going on with me,” she has a way with getting me on track quickly and simply replied, “I get it, you should check out this video from Brené Brown called The Power of Vulnerability.”

Here’s the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCvmsMzlF7o

I watched it (I think like 5 times), it was profound, and a+mazing! I realized my armor was the good little girl coming out saying “I must be perfect for people to like me.” Which is far from the truth!

After the video something awakened inside of me, we all go through this, nobody is perfect and the beauty of who we are is in our imperfections. In order for us to truly connect with others, we need to let others see us as we are (our authentic self). Vulnerability is NOT weakness it is actually creativity, innovation, and courage.

I share my story with you in hopes that you watch the video and have some profound shifts. When you’re out dating or in front of someone you just met, show them your authentic self, and be proud of it. At the end of the day, that’s the only way a person will connect with the REAL you and not what you think you’re supposed to be.

“Everything will line up perfectly when knowing and living the truth becomes more important than looking good.” -Alan Cohen