Recently, I’ve watched a really interesting video which made me think about the ways I could change my life by changing my behavior. It was a talk on vulnerability made by a researcher – Brene Brown. She introduces a fascinating concept of vulnerability being a positive thing.

When thinking about vulnerability, people usually associate it with something negative. After all, everywhere we go, it seems that what is expected from us is perfection – on job interviews, on a relationship market etc. We are used to expect a lot from ourselves because we think that it’s what others want from us. Meanwhile, they too are struggling with the same issues. The thing is, that human beings have limited resources of energy which makes it impossible and frustrating to try to be perfect at all times. Also, as Brene Brown found out, when we actually let ourselves be vulnerable, imperfect, when we are natural and don’t worry about being compromised or that someone will laugh or think something unfavorable about us, then our realtionships with people become deeper. Good people, the ones you would actually like to hang out with, tend to appreciate honesty, openness and the fact that you are able to be your true self around them.

In the end, if we think about the consequences of anything we are afraid of doing, they usually aren’t that serious. After all, if we act foolishly or show our weakness in front of somebody, and if he criticises or bullies us for that, it’s not the person we would like to be around in the first place. That leads us to another advantage of letting ourselves be vulnerable – we will actually attract the valuable and honest people, on whom we will know that we can count.

So, what I got from this is that ultimately, we should simply let go and be ourselves and not care about what someone might think about us. Being vulnerable from time to time reduces stress, helps to build valuable relationships with those around us and brings happiness to everyday life.

For those interested, here’s the original video. Enjoy! 🙂