I have figured that vulnerability can be a suitable transformer in The transformation I have gone through during my life. Over the years, I have always considered security a disaster that should always be avoided. ‘If I exit what they call insecure for the world to see, I am afraid that I would open my downsides and imperfections, and getting rejected and mistreated by others would be instead of the outcome.’ However, as I grow older, I can perceive that a specific trait of vulnerability cannot be mistaken for weakness but instead can be thought of as a characteristic of our humanity.
Revealing myself helps me to gain my freedom of self-expression, bringing people closer together. It is necessary to let myself be seen and heard along with the flaws. What happened is that I built a relationship based on all that. With it, I have found true acceptance and genuineness from the people surrounding me. The source of this intimacy and understanding is a sense of vulnerability that allows for the unmasking of the facades we often see ourselves or others through, leading to the building of genuine relationships characterized by trust and empathy. Plus, self-disclosure has taught me to appreciate myself more and be kind and caring towards myself. In place of the old way I used to perceive them as something just negative that I have to be ashamed of, I have now learned to accept them as the characteristics that make me who I am. That is another side of vulnerability for me. I realized that not only is it perfectly normal to err, but it is also acceptable to be less than society has expected (Thakadipuram, 2023). When I accept and work with my vulnerabilities, I find myself more robust and more resilient, a quality that makes life easier to navigate with ease and an openness about who I am when I face challenges.
Adopting vulnerability as my sharpest friend has made me much more accessible, bypassing the badge of “perfectionism” and the fear of failure. I am applying a different philosophy in life than they advocated previously. I do not pursue the unreachable standards of perfection, but I now love life’s messy and unforeseeable nature. I understood that most of the time, authentic learning and growth happen at moments of being most vulnerable when you are uncomfortable and realize what defines you as a person. The word ‘vulnerability’ was liquidated in my school years regarding weakness. I assumed that by displaying my weaknesses, I was giving my bullies the satisfaction of bullying me further. I did my best to portray the outer side’s steadfastness and perfection, keeping my fragilities and phobias away from others’ attention. However, when I walked on the different sides of life’s pendulum over time, I also felt the impact of maintaining a smoothed-out facade on my mind and emotional health (Ruan et al., 2023). I experienced something like being alone and unable to be close to others even when they were so near, for in-depth communication based on candor and openness was impossible.
The time of crisis in my life, when I went through this evaluation, gave backing to the notion that vulnerability is not something to be ashamed of. Having a hard time with the issue of loneliness and suicidal thoughts, I found help from one of my friends, who became my pillar in the sea of my misery. What I did not anticipate at all was that my friend did not judge or reject me. Instead, he caught my crying with a whole understanding (Lewis, 2020). At that particular moment, it dawned on me how an open mind and intimate sharing enable the forming of solid bonds and genuine relationships. My perception regarding vulnerability became a paradigm shift afterward. So, I decided to let go of my rigid wall and express myself more freely to others. In the process it took me to accept my vulnerability, I was gifted with a new range of emotions that filled me with liberation and empowerment (Olivera, 2022). Now, I do not have to doubt possessing flawless virtue. Instead, I feel like I can be myself entirely and truthfully. In the end, it turned out that accepting my weaknesses made me more available to others, leading to building mutually beneficial bonds of trust and sympathy.
The final realization is that diving into vulnerability is the way to self-acceptance and the growth we all yearn for. Vulnerability gives our lives a chance to be filled with the interpersonal ties most people find meaningful, encourages us to think more highly of ourselves, and helps us truly live our lives for who we are. When a person takes the risk of being vulnerable for the first time, it seems uncomfortable. However, opening up and having the character vulnerable is real courage. Here is to our flaws; therefore, we must celebrate them, for it is through our imperfections that we are intimated to one another and live a life with honesty and satiety.
References
Lewis, D. (2020). Becoming Me: The Journey of Self-acceptance: An ABDL guidebook. AB Discovery.
Olivera, L. (2022). Already Enough: A Path to Self-Acceptance. Simon and Schuster.
Ruan, Q. N., Shen, G. H., Yang, J. S., & Yan, W. J. (2023). The interplay of self-acceptance, social comparison and attributional style in adolescent mental health: cross-sectional study. BJPsych Open, 9(6), e202.
Thakadipuram, T. (2023). Embracing Crisis. In Leadership Wholeness, Volume 1: A Model of Spiritual Intelligence (pp. 101-144). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
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