May 24, 2019 | Your Relationships, Your Self
How learning to be vulnerable is actually empowering
The other day, I watched Brene Brown’s Netflix special The Call to Courage. Have you seen it?
She aptly puts into words what I’ve been trying to express for the past 3 weeks, and what was my experience on this most recent retreat we led this past March.
She says, “Vulnerability is the pathway to being seen and to being loved. To love is to be vulnerable. Many of us would rather not be loved than to risk being vulnerable.”
I felt this on our most recent retreat to the Dominican Republic.
And I know I feel it each time I resist being vulnerable with my partner and then feel even more loved and accepted on the other side of leaning into my humanity and being vulnerable anyway.
Even when all the signals (read: fear, righteous indignation, stubbornness, hands on my hips, you get the idea..) shout, “run, Catherine, run. Girl, what the hell are you thinking? Get outta here” and I stay anyway, and let myself feel all the discomfort of vulnerability, it is then that I’m closest to the love and acceptance I crave.
When we risk being vulnerable, we also are on the brink of finding acceptance.
I believe that acceptance may be one of our greatest fears as human beings. If we fully accept ourselves, then…
…there’s nothing to strive for;
…nothing to works towards;
…no meter stick to measure ourselves against;
…and no so-called “perfect” to reach.
Who we are is enough.
Don’t underestimate how confronting that is for many (if not most). We can get uncomfortable with learning to get comfortable with who we are.
Have compassion with you, and allow yourself to be in-process.
Lean into your growth edge.
Where fear would have you run, what would love have you do?
Be vulnerable.
It’s a magical thing when we create a safe container to be vulnerable in, it gives permission for others to do the same. It creates the possibility for self-love and for acceptance.
10 women in a treehouse in the Dominican Republic taught me this.
- We get to be vulnerable.
- We get to be seen.
- We get to be loved.
- We get to be accepted.
There is no greater gift than this.
One of my favorite practices to offer clients in this arena, is to ask them to write this down and post it, “What’s the most vulnerable thing you could say right now?”
Practice speaking your truth and getting in touch with the whisperings of your heart. It’s a challenge that’s been life-changing for me, and it is a challenge worthy of you too.
The question is… Are you willing?
Hit REPLY and let me know!
Vulnerably yours,

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Reflections, Ahas and Lessons Learned on Hosting the First Unbounded Mastermind Retreat
At the time of recording this episode, I am just still landing from hosting our first ever Unbounded Mastermind retreat a couple of weekends ago. I wanted to record this episode to share what I’m still processing from the retreat, how it went, some of the lessons learned, and some of the highlights. In last week’s episode, we had Kerry Dobson on the show, and if you listened to that episode, you’ll remember that I shared with her that I was feeling vulnerable going into hosting this first ever in person retreat for the mastermind. I had a lot of expectations and hopes for how it would go and sometimes my own anticipation and pressure I put on myself can get in my way, so we workshopped my own blocks on our podcast episode together. It was so incredibly helpful, reassuring and affirming that I was on the right track. So I actually wanted to record this episode and give you the download and behind the scenes of how the retreat ended up going as well as some of my own takeaways as facilitator and some of my own personal insights that were reflected back to me. I know many in my community have shared their own dreams of wanting to host a retreat of their own, so I hope you’ll find this conversation helpful as you consider what to include in your own.
Visit this episode’s show notes page here.
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The Prosperous Empath® Podcast is produced by Heart Centered Podcasting.