I was reminded of something really important this morning – vulnerability is scary.
It’s scary because you’ve been hurt at some point in your life in some way by some person. I have too. We all have, and it sucks.
Maybe it was someone you loved, like your mom or dad, a sibling, boyfriend or spouse who let you down or broke your trust. Maybe it was a teacher, mentor or boss who criticized you or made you feel insignificant or stupid. Or maybe it was your peers who judged or laughed at you.
And so you made the decision to never let yourself feel that way again. You decided to protect yourself, no matter what, because pain like that is just too much.
So you built up some walls and put on some armor – and then it somehow became you against the world. Keeping people at arm’s length so that you can’t be hurt again. Not getting your hopes up so you won’t be disappointed. And ignoring what you actually want because it feels way too risky.
But you know what happens with all that work to protect yourself, you actually end up blocking you from who you really are and what you actually want. All of that truth gets buried – even from you. And what you actually want becomes your best-kept secret.
If you were to get totally honest about your hopes and dreams for you and your life – like selfishly honest – what would you see that maybe you don’t want to see? What scary things would you have to face or endure? Until you let yourself really go there – you’re going to keep feeling stuck.
You deserve to give yourself the chance to see who you can become. To see what you can create and to really go all in. But it’s probably really flipping scary because it’s going to require you to do the thing you’ve been protecting yourself from.
If you’d like some help with this – decluttering who you are now so you can access who you’re meant to be – click here to schedule a complimentary strategy session now.