My Relationship with Vulnerability, and Voice

V is for Vulnerability and Voice

V is for Vulnerability and Voice

First and foremost I have to say, of all the things I’ve encountered over the past while, this TedX talk by Brene Brown on ‘Vulnerability’ has really affected me.   It really had me considering this whole concept and I’m still trying to work out my relationship with it.  My book club is ‘doing’ one of her books next month, which – coincidentally, I had recently just started reading.  I hope it will provide me with further  insight and clarity on the important experience of being vulnerable and having a voice.  This video is worth the 20 minutes.

I do know it is important for me, in order to exist, and have healthy relationships, that I need to remain open and vulnerable to a number of things:
1.   I need to be vulnerable to my anger, but manage it and express it in appropriate ways
2.   I need to be open and vulnerable and face rejection
3.   I need to learn to be vulnerable around people when I’m crying without it making me feel like crying even more!
4.   I need to gently remind myself of how much joy can come from being outward and social and also allow myself to have quiet alone time
5.   I have to remain vulnerable in order to authentically connect
6.   I have to be more vulnerable in order to be able to give more trust

I once was at a therapist’s office.  I had been seeing her about some personal issues that were making my very angry and feel alienated.  I felt like I didn’t have a voice in my issues  because no mater how much I tried to explain how I felt, I wasn’t being understood.  I thought I was being misunderstood.  I felt inadequate.  Going to a therapist can make you feel very vulnerable, as does whatever issue you are experiencing.   Acknowledging our faults and sharing them  with someone else is very exposing.  After one particularly intense session, we stood up and she put out her hand. I thought that she was offering to shake, as I’d ‘done well’.   Turns out she just wanted her pen back!  Turns out being misunderstood and being vulnerable isn’t the end of the world after all!

I’ve really enjoyed this A-Z challenge and the moderate Vulnerability it has provided me.  I’m also quite pleased at the Voice it has given me.  It has been a while since I’ve written and shared in this fashion.  I also realized that in examining my Relationships that in order for any of those to succeed I need to expose myself to Vulnerability and find my Voice.   I also need to increase my ’emotional’ Vocabulary.   Thankfully I’ve realized I have plenty of friends who can be trusted to provide me when I am in need.   I love U guys.

V is for Vulnerability and Voice

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This blog entry is part of a Challenge I am participating in for April 2013.   It is an A to Z challenge (26 entries; 1 each day of the month, except on Sundays).   The theme of my challenge is “My Relationship With _______.”