The Price of Vulnerability

Life sucks sometimes. No matter how positive your outlook is, sometimes shit gets you down. Things like work, money, family, relationships, politics, Taco Bell removing Meximelts from the menu, stepping in dog poop, unanswered texts, etc. can turn a happy day into a dumpster fire without warning. And sometimes you just want to talk about it. It seems like there are billions of ever changing rules that apply when reaching out to someone for support. Rules such as:

1)Be yourself

2) Watch your tone

3)Let it all out

4)Don’t show emotion

5)Show your emotions

6)Share everything

7)Don’t overshare

8) Blame yourself

9) Blame someone else

Everything is incredibly contradictory. Periodically, when someone says they want you to feel free to talk about anything, but when you show your vulnerability, it might be interpreted as a sign of weakness or “scary.” Every adult on this planet has, at one point, made an ass of themselves when they really didn’t mean to. We all know that we have zero control over how others react to us. But we do have control over our own words, actions and reactions to others. Sometimes you need to say things, not necessarily to get sympathy but just to get it out. I’ve never been good at expressing emotions. If I’m being honest, I totally suck at it. Some of us fall down the rabbit hole of self deprecation when dealing with an issue. In reality, all we want is to be heard, supported and reassured. Instead we end up looking selfish, self absorbed and, for lack of a better term, batshit crazy.

So from now on, when someone comes to you with a problem, do your best to listen, give some reassurance, and for the love of God, don’t abandon them when they thought highly enough of you to turn to you in the first place.

12.4.21