Cover Photo by christian ferrer on Unsplash
“When the ego dies, the soul awakes.” — Mahatma Gandhi
Iam certainly not the most “successful” person out there, but over the course of the last 12 months, I’ve grown to be a better person.
Just like everyone else, I have flaws and weaknesses, which at the time, I thought was my reason for not being particularly interesting, and was probably the cause for me to not be as “successful” as I hoped I would be.
I was wrong.
Why is it that, even though I write about the same things as others and I don’t have any particular writing talents, I still managed write two books, contributed to top publications and wrote once a day on average?
Why is it that, even though I’m a skinny ectomorph, I still managed to gain 5kg in one month?
Why is it that, even though I’m almost purely a logical person, I can now draw, take photos and write semi-professionally?
I didn’t have the answers to those questions until quite recently.
Most people are pretty good at telling their strengths, whether they are right or not. But who truly recognizes their weaknesses and dare challenge the thought that you can’t change them?
Well, I did. And a lot of people you and I consider “successful” also did.
Making Yourself Vulnerable
That is a good starting point for your journey to growth.
“Being vulnerable is the only way to allow your heart to feel true pleasure.” — Bob Marley
Start by recognizing your weaknesses and bring them forward. Stop hiding them. Show them to the world.
Arnold Schwarzenegger became the top bodybuilder because he recognized he had weak calves, and started exposing them to the world. He was ashamed of them. He didn’t really want people to see them. He had to work hard on them so people would stop judging.
How often do you dare to be so vulnerable and show your weaknesses to the world?
Very rarely right?
In our society, we always have to show ourselves in our best light. Yet that is precisely what’s holding us back in our growth.
We are who we are because of both our strengths and weaknesses. And if you lie to yourself and to the world about your weaknesses, you won’t ever grow into what you really want to be.
I started showing my more vulnerable side over 6 months ago when I started writing. Writing about myself still makes me uncomfortable.
But by exposing that less-than-perfect side of me, I’ve grown in ways I never thought I would.
Because it’s out in the open and everyone can see what I write, I’m accountable for the things I say and do. I don’t want to write about things I don’t do or don’t believe in. I write about my experiences, good or bad, and 90% of the time, it’s when I expose the bad that I grow as a person.
People who read what I write appreciate the honesty and vulnerability I show in my writing. They relate to my failures.
I gained 5kg of mass in one month by daring to show my weaknesses and by working extremely hard on them.
I managed to do creative things like drawing, taking photos and writing by recognizing it was “against my personality” and finding ways to make it work for me. I didn’t give up because it was hard or “impossible” for a person with my personality.
Conclusion
I reject the idea that we’re stuck with the personality we have at any point in time. We’re very adaptable people and we can change, for better or worse. In fact, we change on a daily basis.
Recognize your weaknesses, make yourself vulnerable, and work on your pain points. You’ll see your growth accelerate at a pace you never imagined would be possible.
Anyone can do this. Don’t hide in the dark. Set your ego or modesty aside and show the world that, like everyone else, you are not perfect. You are vulnerable like everyone else.
You can do this!
Thanks for reading! :)