A large part of my role as a Leadership Development specialist is connecting people to their personal and professional capabilities. Every day I get to help others unlock a new piece of who they are and outstretch their perspectives beyond the measures of their mind; possibly beyond limits they have never reached before. To identify a piece within themselves who strives to get better, not to climb a professional ladder, but to fully come into the next version of themselves every single day.
Each day when we wake up and choose to be in the mindset and thoughts of the day before, we don’t allow ourselves the chance to see the beauty of a new opportunity that can flow in at any moment. Newness scares us as a species, as it offers us a new chance to fail. A new chance to prove that the outside version of ourselves that anticipates the failure will be proven right. That state devours our creativity and our ability to overcome. That ego, our ego, fuels that confirmation of failure, but it takes doing the hard work of separating from those thoughts to realize our ego is not solely who we are and only a mere way for us to learn and overcome.
While many different sciences study the importance bridge between the brain and the mind, focusing on skills like vulnerability and curiosity have become increasingly important in our personal and professional lives. In order to learn more about ourselves, we have to be open to learning from the versions of you that sit outside ourselves.
Below I have outlined a few ways to cultivate these skills. However, it is crucial for the reader and the learner to remember that there may be times when these practical applications push you out of your comfort zone, which these exercises are intended to do.
In order to develop your curiosity, you first have to have the desire for continued learning with an open understanding that the views you currently hold may be challenged for your growth. Someone who is practicing curiosity is willing to connect with others to ask thought provoking questions without an end goal in mind, but to just listen and be open to the perspectives. Curiosity thrives when you allow yourself to explore without needing immediate answers.
In developing your vulnerability, one has to learn how to name the different emotions they are feeling and identify when those feelings are arising. This builds our emotional literacy and language which helps us to deepen our connection to ourselves and to others. When you embrace discomfort and lean into it rather than shying away from it or showing avoidance, this helps our brains and emotional bodies rewire our response to discomfort and lean into the newness a little bit easier.
❌ Vulnerability is not gender specific. It does not care what color our bodies are or the grades we get in school.
❎ Vulnerability is embracing discomfort, creating space for authentic connection and stepping into emotional honesty.
As mentioned, cultivating these skills takes time, but I urge you when the going gets tough to lean into what you have not before. Let yourself remain in energy of openness and reflect on all the moments that have brought you into this new understanding of self. You’ll be pleasantly surprised what you unlock.
If you’re interested in having an experience like this, please reach out to us at PsycharoundtheGlobe@gmail.com
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Dawn Xx
