They say that letting yourself be vulnerable means you are living a full life. It shows that you are living courageously, facing your fears. When you are there in the middle of it though you wonder if people are simply telling lies. You see, in being vulnerable, you open yourself up to a world of pain. If you are supported by your family and friends, well and good, but what if you are being vulnerable on your own. Facing life’s curveballs one hit at a time. Is it worth it? Or better yet, can you handle it?
Before preaching the importance of vulnerability and finding strength, I think thought must be given first to having a well-established support group. A group of people you can turn to and rely on when you know you are in way over your head. People who will listen to your rants, comfort you in your tears and pull you out of your hole when all you wanted is to hide from the world. You see, being strong is a process. Before you find strength, you need to overcome pain and fear. That means you will have to face pain, feel it crawl under your skin, sucking you of your life force. Strength is being able to stand up after that; able to again tell the world “Bring it on!”. But the good thing here is that you don’t have to actually do it on your own. No one expects you to.
While it is good to live life courageously, it is essential that we also establish precautions to be sure of our survival. Living things have progressed through adaptation. The need for connection, however, remains constant among living things. Who are we then to challenge what has been proven by history?
So my advice is to find a group of people, i.e., your friends/family, who you can be yourself with and who will encourage you to be more yourself, force you not to settle and who will push you to reach your dreams.
Find your people and be vulnerable together.