There is one superpower that many of us often ignore and even avoid, and that is being vulnerable. Oftentimes, vulnerability is thought of as a weakness when it is so much more than that. In fact, it takes strength to fully embrace this superpower. Once we do, we can see our lives transform in ways we haven’t even considered. April Shprintz takes us through an episode where she shares how you can tap into this superpower, develop this muscle, and change your life. Are you missing out on this superpower? Tune in now!
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Are You Missing Out On This Superpower?
Hi, there. I am so glad you’re here. I have always been such a fan of superpowers. I’ve always wanted to be a superhero, have superpowers, be able to do amazing things. I was also obsessed with The Bionic Woman when I was a kid. The idea of being able to do things exceptionally well has always really resonated with me. However, there is one superpower, possibly one of the best superpowers that I not only ignored but completely avoided for most of my life. That superpower was being vulnerable. How about you? Do you feel like being vulnerable is a superpower? I’ll tell you that I absolutely did not. I thought that it meant you were weak, and it was an opportunity for people to hurt or disappoint you. Like I said, I avoided it at all costs.
People have different relationships with being vulnerable depending on their life history. Some folks grew up in a way that being vulnerable didn’t feel safe. Some folks have had a lot more luck by having a tough outer shell. Then there are some folks who are just naturally really great at this. If you’re one of those people who isn’t naturally really great at it. I want to encourage you to develop that muscle and become more vulnerable because it will make such a difference in your life.
Vulnerability: People have different relationships with being vulnerable depending on their life history.
Being Vulnerable As A Superpower
Here’s why I view being vulnerable as a superpower. It helps you connect with people like nothing else because I will tell you that someone who never shares their fears, never shares when they mess up, never shares what they are really thinking, people don’t ever feel like they’re actually close to you. They don’t really find a way to connect to you on that deeper level. Being able to share things that make you feel a little more vulnerable actually allows you to have deeper relationships with people, whether they’re acquaintances or friends or people that are even closer to you, your partner. The ability to share those things can build a foundation that really nothing else can. It can be incredibly powerful.
Help People Learn
Being vulnerable can help other people learn. One of the things I implemented a couple of years ago in my social media is sharing Fail Fridays, which is literally me being vulnerable about all these things that I failed at throughout the years. There are a lot, but what’s incredible is I have learned the most when people whom I looked up to or knew or worked with or admired shared the things that they didn’t do well. I learned the most because, number one, maybe I learned a lesson from a mistake that they made, and then I didn’t have to make it.
Number two, just the idea that someone that I thought had it pretty together made a mistake, really allowed me to embrace doing something that was outside of my comfort zone and not worry so much about failure or what it would look like. It allowed me to try new things and really learn. If you’re willing to be vulnerable and share when you don’t do well especially as a leader because it sets such an incredible example for your people, then you’ll find that everyone around you learns better.
Vulnerability: The idea that someone that I thought had it pretty together made a mistake, really allowed me to embrace doing something that was outside of my comfort zone.
Prevent Misunderstandings
Last one, and this is more on a personal level, being vulnerable prevents a lot of misunderstandings that if people were willing to share how they were feeling and what they were afraid of, and what they wanted would never happen. I was terrible about this. I never used to share things. I was that person who would passive-aggressively say something and ask for something that I wanted. That if I had just straight up asked for it would have been easy to get. For example, let’s say I was having a bad day and I wanted my partner to support me because I was having a bad day. I might say something like, “It’s just terrible that I don’t ever get supported for this.” Instead of just saying, “When I have a really tough day, it would mean the world to me if you could support me or encourage me or just ask me questions so that I can work on getting to a better place.”
Being vulnerable prevents a lot of misunderstandings. Share on XFor me, personally, I wasn’t willing to straight up ask for it because my greatest fear was that they just would say, “No, it’s not important to me. I don’t care about you. I don’t want to give that to you.” I let that fear get in the way and not get my needs met. I also set my partners up for failure because I didn’t tell them what it was that would be really valuable to me. I hope you can learn from that example and share it with the people in your life because I’ll tell you, as much as I spent most of my life being terrified about being vulnerable and what would happen to me, that I’d be taken advantage of or people would be mean or they wouldn’t care. I found the opposite to be true.
Vulnerability: I let that fear get in the way and not get my needs met.
The more often you’re willing to be vulnerable, the deeper you connect with people, and the more people are able to surprise you, whether they’re people you know really well, or they’re strangers on the street. People are kinder than you would ever expect when you show them the real you. That’s my challenge for you this week. I want you to be the real vulnerable you. I’d love for it to be your challenge for the entire year, but just give it a shot this week and see what a difference it can make for you in the way that you learn, in the way that you connect, and in the way that you feel. Here’s to your success.
