Vulnerability
“I’m 35. Shouldn’t I have worked this stuff out by now?”
“Ten years ago, if you’d told me I’d be sitting here talking to you, I would have laughed in your face!”
“No offence, I feel like a failure just being here …”
As counsellors we hear a lot of this, because we live in a culture where it’s shameful to need help, to be vulnerable, to be at a loss. We all suffer from it. This stuff is not easy for any of us. I remember the disconcerting feeling of being on the other side of my first meeting with a counsellor. I came in to talk about a weird problem I had, but within half an hour I’d forgotten all about it, and was talking about my parents and my childhood. Now, it seems so embarrassingly obvious, but until I started talking I had no idea.
I just watched again my favourite online talk. I apologise that it’s not original: it’s one of the most-watched TED talks, Brené Brown’s The Power of Vulnerability. But sometimes, 17 million people really can’t be wrong. If you’ve not seen it, give yourself a treat. If you have, then give it another go. I guarantee you’ll take something away from it.
What is it that makes you feel vulnerable? I’d love to hear what you say about this.
