Three Hidden Powers of Vulnerability
By Chris Kyle
When I was a kid, I can’t tell you how many times I heard phrases like these: “just suck it up, Kyle”; “don’t cry – the strongest don’t cry”; “what are you, a pussy?”; “don’t get too excited”; “tone it down…”; “I don’t want to hear how you feel about it, just do it”; and “don’t get angry with me young man.” These came from my friends, my teachers, my coaches, and my family too.
I know many men who can relate to these words and far worse including a lot more swearing — “f*cking” this and “goddamn” that.
As a boy and then a young man I was told constantly to stay in a zone of feeling and behavior that essentially felt like being a block of granite — solid, unmoving, rational, toned-down, and generally unfeeling. Sharing my feelings, my deep fears, expressing sadness, crying were all seen as weakness for a young, maturing man.
What I came to believe was: Vulnerability = Weakness
I recall one key event in my early teens when some friends at school were instigating a fight between me and a kid named Evan. I didn’t want to fight him, but it somehow became a matter of honor, or an issue of shame, if I DIDN’T fight him.
I remember facing Evan, with a small crowd circled around us, and thinking “why am I here”. I literally couldn’t remember what we fought about or what was the issue that had us squaring off against each other with fists raised. We finally dove into it, trading a few punches, and then found ourselves wrestling on the ground. He got me in a head-lock and all I could do was say ‘uncle’ — to tap out. I’d lost the fight.
As I stood up, facing the others gathered around, I could feel the shame welling up in me, and the tears started to come. And of course, you know what’s coming… one of the boys says to me: “f*ck Kyle, are you crying?” It was said with such disdain and disbelief. I dropped into a deeper level of shame for having these feelings and showing the tears. This moment shut me down and locked me out from my tears, and slammed the door on my vulnerability.
Our culture continues to indoctrinate boys and men in this way — through old socializing patterns that are deeply ingrained in our cultural DNA. It’s this: Be tough, don’t cry, don’t share your fear, win at all costs, prove you’re a man.
And yet, now what I’m seeing are adult men who are willing to work on themselves and take a deep look at these beliefs and patterns. They are consciously unwinding this shame and belief of ‘vulnerability is weakness’, and bringing a new understanding and self-compassion to their childhood wounds and traumas.
This truth-telling about myself and the willingness to be more open, transparent, revealing… to be more vulnerable, is freeing and empowering.
Now the vulnerability starts to look and feel different. It becomes a hidden source of power for me.
And what vulnerability is at it’s core is allowing ourselves to really be SEEN, warts and all, so we can feel more connected. The researcher and author, Brene Brown, says that it’s this vulnerability that helps heal our shame and opens us up to deeper connection and a greater sense of worthiness.
So as I investigated deeper into masculine vulnerability, I became aware of what I call the 3 Hidden Powers of Vulnerability.
1. Vulnerability opens us to an increased capacity for Courage
Being vulnerable, sharing more of myself, taking the risk to say with needs to be said, to speak the truth in my heart — all of it takes courage. As we practice being more vulnerable (open, transparent, being seen) then we foster a new level of courage that we can apply in many areas of our lives. This courage-building also garners respect and appreciation from others. And it builds a resilience in us to face the many challenges that life will bring.
2. Being vulnerable brings forth greater Compassion for ourselves and others
When we are vulnerable, when we truly open ourselves to be seen by others, we are sharing more parts of ourselves with the world. And in that awareness of the hurt, raw or broken parts of ourselves we are able to see our own humanity and have greater compassion for ourselves. As this capacity builds inside us we have more empathy and compassion for others. This growing power of compassion provides us with a greater ability to accept and let go of beliefs and judgements that don’t serve us. More presence and peace is found in this compassion.
3. Vulnerability creates deeper, more authentic Connections
What I see as the greatest gift of vulnerability is the ability to actively cultivate deeper, more real connections with everyone in my life. When we practice being more open and vulnerable we are able to pierce the veil of shame and fear and experience deeper connection and relatedness. More honest dialog emerges, more healing between friends and loved ones occur. And this is counter-intuitive to our minds — where we equate vulnerability with fear, hurt and weakness. When in fact it creates more support, more freedom, more joy, more release and more appreciation. These authentic connections serve our success and happiness in every area of life — relationships, work, parenting, community and well-being.
So, I invite you to choose more opportunities to share yourself, to express your fears, to let your tears be seen. Cultivate this openness, this vulnerability and watch these hidden powers blossom and grow so that they infuse your life with more meaning, passion and care for yourself and others.
Chris has trained and coached hundreds of individuals to achieve greater success in their businesses and their lives. In partnership with The ManKind Project®, he recently created The Power of Purpose Summit and the Man On Purpose online course. He is also the co-creator, with Amy Ahlers, of the ongoing tele-series, New Man, New Woman, New Life.
Chris is the former Chief Development Officer and Chief Marketing Officer at Evolving Wisdom LLC, an online learning company that produces virtual courses with leading luminaries in the personal development arena. At Evolving Wisdom he co-developed The Way of the Evolutionary Man tele-summit with host Craig Hamilton. Chris was an invited speaker for The Shift Network’s Ultimate Men’s Summit in 2011.
In addition to his leadership development work, Chris has spent over 24 years as an executive, entrepreneur, consultant and business coach, working in Fortune 500 companies and owning his own eco-adventure travel company. Chris graduated from Stanford University where he studied Political Science. He lives with his wife in Northern California.
– is a deeply personal issue that everyone decides for himself. Sometimes the price is high, sometimes low. But this is not very important for life. Life is an interesting thing. And the price on Viagra – too.
