I don't know how many of you took the time to watch the Brene Brown video from Friday -- but I have to tell you, it blew me away.
How often do we take a look at our own vulnerability and what protecting ourselves actually causes us to do. How many of you have not thrown your resume into the ring for a job you thought you'd love because you were afraid you wouldn't .... get it, be able to do it, get called for the interview...whatever. Your vulnerability caused you to not try -- because not trying is easier to live with than failing (or at least that's what we tell ourselves).
Even with our eating habits, how many times do we hold back from making commitments because we are afraid to fail, afraid someone will point out our new (slightly odd) habit of eating less or using smaller plates, boxing up half your dinner out so you won't overeat.....
How often have you thought about joining a gym but then been afraid you would attract too much attention because of your size, your lack of knowledge about working out, your level of bodily coordination.....so you talk yourself out of it because you don't want to put yourself in that vulnerable of a situation. And so you stay the same.
No gym membership. No change in eating behaviors. You live small trying not to draw attention to yourself.
Well, here's the thing, if you want to create something new (a more fit and healthy you, a you than can run a 5k, a you that can rock climb, a you that is the grandparent that can get on the floor to play with the new grandbaby -- whatever it is, if you're not there right now, it will be new for you) --
you have to face being vulnerable.
You are your worst critic. It's likely that very few people care enough to pay attention to what you're trying to do much less spend any great amount of time mocking it -- but it's this fear we let stop us in our tracks.
Living small won't serve your purposes. You're not going to accomplish your goals by keeping yourself invulnerable (it's a myth -- it can't be done!).
So take some time to be mindful of your thought processes today and see just how many of your actions are really driven by the need to protect yourself from vulnerability. Maybe that habit worked for a while. Perhaps its time to see if it's now getting in the way of your weight management and your health.
“When we were children, we used to think that when we were grown-up we would no longer be vulnerable. But to grow up is to accept vulnerability... To be alive is to be vulnerable.”
ReplyDelete― Madeleine L'Engle