Being Vulnerable Isn’t a Weakness
Nate Bailey
Helping high performing entrepreneurs create a roadmap to ultimate leadership and achievement in all areas of life and business through 121 coaching | Former US Army Officer | Motivational Speaker |
Allowing yourself to be vulnerable is powerful.
About 3.5 years ago I was in a very difficult and even dangerous place in life, trying to push down my weaknesses, trying to avoid them, to run from them, to deny that I had any weaknesses. Thinking that acknowledging my weaknesses was a sign of weakness.
It took a while, but after reading The Purpose Driven Life, I began to realize that we get power from our weakness and being vulnerable. People appreciate it. It’s like being authentic, or being real, or telling the truth. Telling people where we’ve been and where we’ve come from, letting people know that they’re not the only ones is a powerful way to connect and help people to grow.
There is power in being able to acknowledge and admit to your weaknesses. You will make more progress and earn more respect when you are real about your imperfections than you will if you try to pretend as though you have never done anything wrong.
I know what you’re thinking. How in the world do I admit my mistakes, my weaknesses to other people? It’s hard enough to admit them to ourselves, right? But, what if it doesn’t have to be? All you have to do is open yourself up and be honest. Be more real. Be more authentic. Be willing to be more vulnerable.
One way you can be more authentic and vulnerable is by sharing your story. By sharing your experiences, people will come to see you as relatable; they will see some of their own story within your story, and that will make them feel less alone, less afraid to be their authentic selves and admit to and accept their weaknesses. And the only way to truly live a legacy lifestyle is to be true to yourself and others.
Growth comes from stepping outside the box and allowing yourself to be uncomfortable. And there isn’t anything quite as uncomfortable as admitting that you may not be perfect. No one likes to be uncomfortable, but being able to move through that place of discomfort and admit to being uncomfortable and feeling vulnerable is so important when you are climbing to reach your goals every day. Admitting to those feelings is the only way to work through them and come out on the other side.