Brené Brown, New York Times Bestselling Author, has spent decades researching courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy. When it comes to vulnerability, she famously said, “Vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage. Truth and courage aren’t always comfortable, but they’re never weaknesses.”
While it may feel scary to open up and expose your inner thoughts, feelings, and emotions to others, it is a strength and can lead to greater personal growth.
But how exactly does exposing such negative emotions to others help you grow?
Here are four ways vulnerability can help you do that:
1. IT PUSHES YOU OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE
When you are vulnerable, you allow yourself to be seen as you truly are, for both the good and the bad. This can be uncomfortable for some, but it can also be incredibly empowering.
By accepting yourself and sharing your true self with others, you can become a stronger, more resilient person. This is because being vulnerable requires a certain level of risk-taking, as you are putting yourself out there and exposing yourself to the possibility of rejection from others.
By embracing this risk-taking mentality, you step out of your comfort zone and develop a growth mindset that allows you to learn from your experiences, rather than being held back by them.
2. IT MAKES YOU MORE EMPATHETIC
When you are vulnerable, you allow yourself to be seen and understood by others. You bring to the surface the side of you that you would rather keep hidden, which takes a lot of courage.
Once you’ve gone through this situation yourself, it can lead to greater empathy and understanding of others, as you will be better able to relate to other people’s experiences and emotions.
Plus, going through something yourself and knowing what it’s like to be in those shoes helps you develop your emotional intelligence.
3. IT INCREASES SELF-AWARENESS
Being vulnerable requires a certain level of self-awareness. When you can identify and express your feelings, you are better able to understand your own needs and desires.
This self-awareness can help you make more informed decisions and develop a stronger sense of self. In other words, we can think of being vulnerable as a form of self-reflection, as it forces you to articulate your experiences in a way that others can understand.
This reflection can help you gain new insights into yourself and your experiences, ultimately leading to personal growth.
4. IT HELPS YOU CONFRONT YOUR PROBLEMS
Most of us live in a state of avoidance when it comes to our issues because they bring up negative emotions we don’t want to face. It is not because it’s the right thing to do, but rather because it’s the easy thing to do.
While emotions such as fear, shame, and sadness are difficult emotions to express as they are usually uncomfortable, they can also be incredibly powerful motivators for personal growth. By confronting these emotions head-on, you can work through them and learn from them, ultimately becoming a stronger, more resilient person.
Not only are expressing difficult emotions a big component of your personal growth but by opening up and exposing your flaws and feelings, you can work through what it is you have been avoiding and find solutions to them.
To summarize, vulnerability can be a powerful tool for personal growth. By confronting difficult emotions, developing self-awareness, encouraging personal reflection, and fostering a growth mindset, vulnerability can help you become a stronger, more resilient person. You just need to leap.