Daring To Be Vulnerable

• Vulnerability is neither good nor bad. Rather, being vulnerable simply means you have the capacity to experience emotions.
• Though we often associate vulnerability with dark emotions, like fear, grief, or sadness, vulnerability is, in fact, also the root of our positive emotions: love, joy, empathy, and so on.
• Allowing yourself to be vulnerable shows strength and courage – not weakness.

Vulnerability means uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure.

You might love someone, for example, and in doing so expose yourself emotionally; but you can never be certain that they'll reciprocate, thus you risk being rejected. Like any other feeling, love entails vulnerability.

Embracing our vulnerability can help us to learn and develop, both professionally and socially.

• Social development: embracing vulnerability allows us to both experience our emotions authentically and be empathic, enabling us to connect with others. Just as you'd appreciate others being open and honest with you, your vulnerability and willingness to share your feelings and thoughts will be received positively.
• Professional development: it's only by taking risks and daring to expose our work and ideas to external criticism that we can improve ourselves. If you practice only what you know you're good at, you of course avoid the risk of failure, but you also miss out on a potential new experience.