By Lauren Catanese,

“Owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing that we will ever do.” –Brene Brown in The Gifts of Imperfection.

Being vulnerable or being conscious that I am being vulnerable is something that I’ve been trying to be more attentive to lately. What does it mean to be vulnerable? When am I vulnerable? When do I run and escape the situation instead of allowing myself to be vulnerable? Why do I do that? What am I afraid of?

After reading several books written by Brene Brown, an author and researcher whose Ted Talk on vulnerability was viewed by over 30 million people and from my own experiences, I believe it comes down to getting real. Vulnerability is being genuine about what we are feeling and not being afraid of showing that to anyone; because we are afraid of being rejected, or because we think that somehow we are not good enough or worthy. It’s in those spaces, those moments when we feel these emotions that we tend to tense up, put on a good face, or run. But that’s not being real. That’s not being authentic to who we are or what we need.

So instead of being scared and hiding…open…soften. Express the fact that you are feeling those emotions for whatever reason even if you’re not sure what to do with them, and know that it’s ok you are feeling them. That’s being vulnerable. It’s allowing ourselves to feel free to express what we are feeling, period. No judgment whether it’s good or bad, crazy or wrong. It’s just plain being honest for what we feel and owning up to it, “owning our story.”

We can also forgive ourselves and allow ourselves to have that “human” moment, and feel what we feel, express it, and keep going. Life is full of reasons and lessons to learn; we need to be willing to be open and share how we are feeling at that moment.

When we can be open and honest about how we feel, being willing to be vulnerable, then we become a guide for others and allow them the same gift of authenticity. We are all longing to feel loveable. That journey begins within! And a way to do that is through our hearts, our actions, and our words that we say and think. We cannot hide how we feel for too long before we experience negative side effects. It’s important to our health and wellbeing to be conscious of our emotions and be able to tell others what our needs are, as well as telling and being honest with ourselves about how we are feeling. Vulnerability is a beautiful release. It melts the walls that we have placed around ourselves out of fear. Show your light. Let it shine unto this world and Live on!

Brene Says it this way : “Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it. Embracing our vulnerabilities is risky but not nearly as dangerous as giving up on love and belonging and joy – the experiences that make us the most vulnerable. Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light.”

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