Find Courage in Uncertainty 7 Minute Meditation for When You Feel Vulnerable

Hi there and welcome to this first step on this journey of seeking discomfort. In case we haven't met, my name is Dora Kamau and I'm one of the meditation and mindfulness teachers here at Headspace. This meditation is all about embracing vulnerability, which I know can sound quite intimidating, especially if we're new to the topic. But what if you were able to find a way to work through the fear that can come with doing the things that scare us? Author Brené Brown defines vulnerability as what we experience when presented with uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure. And it's true. When we decide to do something, whether it's traveling to a new country, having a difficult conversation, or even learning a new skill, there's uncertainty there. We don't know how it will turn out. We may think about what if I fail? What if it goes wrong? Or what if I'm not liked? But what about if we did it anyway? What if, instead of failure, it just meant that we were being invited to learn more about ourselves or others? What if rejection was redirection? And what if that sense of uncertainty gave us more freedom to dream and connected us to greater possibilities? The truth is, we don't know how things will work out. Yet the mind can make it seem as if these things are quite certain. But the only thing guaranteed in this life is change. Things are constantly changing. And the more that we can lean into that sense of impermanence, the more we can learn to embrace vulnerability. The journey to embrace vulnerability begins with becoming aware of our relationship to it, recognizing how it shows up in our minds and bodies, and over time, learning to define it or redefine it for ourselves. So let's give this a try. We'll begin with keeping the eyes open to a soft gentle gaze, taking in your surroundings, and then beginning to take some nice big deep breaths, breathing in through the nose, and breathing out through the mouth, just softening the body with each breath. And on the next exhale, closing the eyes if you'd like, and returning the breath back to its natural rhythm, feeling the weight of the body pressed down into the surface beneath you. Now we'll spend some time reflecting on a few questions, and the invitation here is just to notice what thoughts or feelings arise as we flow through the following prompts. So inviting you now to reflect on what does vulnerability mean to you? What does it look like to be vulnerable? Maybe even noticing how does it feel when we think of vulnerability and what it means to be vulnerable? What can we sense in our bodies? So just building up a picture in the mind and body here, trying not to get carried away by stories or judgments, just noticing what arises, and again asking ourselves what does vulnerability look and feel like for you at this time? And remembering to breathe here, seeing if we can let go of any judgments, any thoughts of perfection or control, and just being with what is right here in this moment. And with whatever is present, any thoughts or sensation, just beginning now to lengthen the breath. So breathing in deeply and breathing out slowly. Oftentimes the difference between fear and excitement is a deep breath, so just taking our time here to breathe with whatever may be present, thoughts, emotions, or sensations, and then just letting that go. Noticing the different points of contact between the body and the surface beneath you, beginning to notice sounds around you in your space, perhaps wiggling the fingers and wiggling the toes. And when you're ready, slowly and gently opening your eyes and just taking a moment here just to notice how you feel and noticing what's present. Truth be told, to be vulnerable is an act of courage. Buddhist teacher and author Pema Chodron writes how fear is a natural reaction as we move closer to the truth. And the truth is, it takes great courage to be able to do those things that scare us. One of Yes Theory's mantras is to do it scared. When fear is a co-pilot trying to steer us off course, it doesn't mean that we boot the co-pilot out of the car. We're just choosing not to listen to it. As Thomas shared in our conversation, self-reflection has been an important part of his journey of seeking discomfort. So from here, spend a few moments reflecting or journaling about what vulnerability and being on this journey of seeking discomfort mean to you. And I'll see you back here soon.