Dare To Be Vulnerable

I think being vulnerable means letting someone else see the authentic you. It is when you don’t hide anything and you just lay all your thoughts and feelings out on the table. I try to always be vulnerable with my close friends and family because I feel this strengthens your relationships and allows them to grow. However, being vulnerable is not always easy. Allowing others to see your weaknesses, your faults, your fears, and even your dreams can be extremely scary. Furthermore, I feel that some people see vulnerability as a lack of control or as being weak when in reality it is the stronger and braver people who allow themselves to be vulnerable, but because some people do have these negative views, it only makes it harder to do.

As I watched the Ted Talk I felt that it made sense to me when she explained how she noticed that the happier people were more vulnerable. I believe that if your open about who you are and what your feeling, then other people will be more likely to reciprocate and open up to you and this in turn will lead to healthier long term relationships, which I see as a direct contributor to happiness.

VALUES

The VIA assessment found my top value to be judgment and I very much agree with this. I look at situations from all sides and I always try to see the point of view of others. I believe that it is important to understand where people are coming from, how they got there, and why they act as they do. 

Outside of the assessment, I would say I value people and my relationships with them above all else. I am extremely grateful for my friends and family and thus I value anything that supports the growth of those relationships.  This includes always being honest with them, compassionate and understanding of their troubles, and treating them with kindness.

Looking back, I feel that when I was younger I use to struggle much more with who I was and what I value and even though there is still great room for improvement, I am much more certain in my values today. I believe this is because values grow and change with you. So as I learned more and saw more (both good and bad), my values developed and strengthened with me. 

I have always strived to be authentic in my values, however I am not perfect and have made plenty of mistakes in my day. There have been times where I jump to conclusions and don’t give people the benefit of the doubt that they deserve. I am not happy  with myself when I make mistakes as these and thus I feel that comes back into why I always try to see situations from all sides, because I try my hardest to prevent acting in a way that is not true to my value of relationships.