We’re spending the month of March focusing on one thing: vulnerability. As event professionals and—ahem—total perfectionists, vulnerability tends to be something we’re not super comfortable with. After all, the events we plan rely on our ability to control—control of timelines and seating charts, control of budgets and vendors, control of those on our team—in order to go off without a hitch. There are times, however, when opening ourselves up to vulnerability is exactly what we need push our own limits and grow as business owners and event planners.
I love today’s quote, then, because Cheryl Strayed encourages us to see vulnerability and the fear that accompanies it as power. “Walk without a stick into the darkest woods”—this statement doesn’t scare me, but rather, inspires and empowers me. Strayed’s words remind me that, in some ways, vulnerability is control. It’s a choice we consciously make—to open ourselves up, in many ways, is power. After all, to stand with our arms outstretched and our hearts shining toward the sky, open and willing to face whatever is coming to us is a much more powerful position than crouching down and wrapping our arms around our bodies to protect ourselves. Yet, of the two, standing upright and open is, by far, the more vulnerable position.
In other words, vulnerability and power (or vulnerability and control) are not mutually exclusive ideas at all, though we tend to think of them as such. I love and appreciate the fact that Strayed’s words remind of us this fact—that, by allowing ourselves to be vulnerable, we can, at the very same time, be powerful.
We’re going to spend the month of March exploring ways to be vulnerable as creatives, as business owners and as planners. Check back regularly for inspiration on incorporating vulnerability into both your professional and personal life.
Cheers, Aisle Planners, to looking at vulnerability in a whole new light!
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