When was the last time someone was their true authentic self with you?
When was the last time you were authentic and transparent with someone else?
There’s another word here coming to mind when I consider those questions for myself: vulnerability.
So, stack those three words together and we get:
Authenticity
Transparency
Vulnerability
Sit with them for a just a couple of minutes. To be those around others. To experience them from others. I am not talking about people (we all know those) who like to vomit everything as quickly as possible with no boundaries or sense of how it’s impacting those around him.
Of course, he has his reasons for being that way, which one could patiently explore, but I am simply asking you about the power of a life which includes living with those descriptors on a regular basis.
Try this exercise:
When I am authentic, I want people to see ___________.
When I am transparent, I would like others to experience _________ about me.
When I am vulnerable, this is what comes to mind: _____________.
And, beyond the simple exercise of fill-in-the-blank, take a moment and feel the other side of living within those words for your life.
Now, what sort of feelings arise for you? If you are anything like me, my first reaction is fear. I fear the risk of people rejecting me because my insides were just exposed. And, beyond that particular fear, I fear loneliness and isolation.
Taking the Risk
Being authentic, transparent, and vulnerable is inherently risky. We cannot control how others might react to us. How others feel about us.
Which is why it is highly important to practice being those things in a safe and caring environment. As long as I don’t feel safe doing so, I will always keep my guard up and likely keep the risk of being authentic, transparent, and vulnerable to a bare minimum, if I practice them at all.
But, in order to overcome this habit or addiction to pornography, the real you must come out. If you long to find the courage and risk those, let’s have a conversation. I can’t promise you will transform in 30 minutes, but I can offer you a moment to make a choice – to pivot. Schedule your half hour with me and together let’s see who you can become!
In the video below I said I would share Brené Brown's TED Talk, "The Power of Vulnerability"