Harnessing Fear & Vulnerability

Fear gets a bad reputation. For years, especially among men, there has been a belief that we shouldn’t feel fear. Men should be brave, bold, and courageous. As young men, boys were taught that fear is a trait of the weak and indicates softness. Fortunately, all of us have witnessed a tremendous amount of woman empowerment, a great progress for us as a society, with plenty of room for further growth. With this empowerment has come a rise of candid vulnerability and the strength that results from this. This movement has opened many eyes to the power of vulnerability and authenticity. 

To embrace vulnerability, is to embrace fear.  This is the opposite of what so many were taught and exposed to over the years. After all, vulnerable does mean ‘open to attack,’ and all of us would feel at least some measure of fear if we felt threatened.

This shift in our culture has made one thing abundantly clear. Fear as a bad emotion, a negative emotion is an outdated belief that needs to go. Fear, like all emotions is a powerful force we can harness. Fear after all is neither good nor bad, it is a natural response to stimuli. We can all admit that we at our most basic have a flight or fight mechanism. Fear then is a purely natural and precautionary emotion that helps ensure our survival.

How do we harness fear then? How do we, instead of minimizing or attaching negative attributes to the emotion, take something we all naturally have and use it to accomplish great things?

We harness fear by taking the plunge. We get vulnerable and we show our authenticity. Today, more than ever we have a strong desire to connect. There are more people than ever on this planet and less connection between all of us. The very best way to connect with another person is to be open, honest and vulnerable.

A fantastic example of this was on display in our most recent podcast with Susan Block. Susan expertly tackled a topic any of us could find highly sensitive and by making herself vulnerable showed us how any of us can use this as a platform to change our lives, for the positive. 

This podcast had tremendous lessons. About fear, about vulnerability, about using life’s circumstances to define your life, not allowing the circumstances to be the defining factor. If you haven’t listened in yet we highly encourage you to check it out. You can access it at

www.jbandthedoctor.com/podcast

To connect with Susan and other great professionals you can join us in our free, private community.

www.facebook.com/groups/labofmastery

-JB