Are you financially vulnerable?

When you hear the word VULNERABLE what is your first thought? Most people would say “weakness” or “getting people where it really hurts” or “I don’t ever want to be THAT!”

Think again. In Brene Brown’s and my way of thinking to be vulnerable is made up of 3 components: uncertainty, risk and emotional exposure. Let’s say, for instance that you want to start a new business. You have a good product or service. You have no certainty that your service or product will make it through all the
hoops it may have to jump through to bring it to market and make a profit. That means taking a risk, especially if you are putting your own time and money into the project without all the investor backing you might wish to have. And what about emotional exposure? If you succeed then HALLELUJAH! Bearing all the
uncertainty and risk melts away. Your self-esteem skyrockets and your emotional exposure is no longer threatened. In other words, despite the discomfort of uncertainty, risk and emotional exposure you have courageously stepped out and created a success.

But what if the ending isn’t so happy? What if your product or service is great but there is real trouble manufacturing or marketing it? Or there is competition you weren’t aware of that has more market share? You’ve courageously taken a risk, coped with uncertainty, emotionally exposed yourself and BOOM! you are losing money, getting discouraged and criticizing yourself for ever taking the risk of starting your own business.

Taking that chance and risking something that can bring you down and even end in failure is what vulnerability is. You risk being hurt. Can you stand to hurt? Many people try valiantly to avoid hurt. I don’t advocate looking for hurt but learning how to tolerate it without beating yourself up frees you to reach out and embrace more challenging activities and projects you might not otherwise attempt. So go for it. As Theodore Roosevelt once said: “…..who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he (or she) fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his (or her) place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory or defeat.”