How Vulnerability Inspires Creativity

by Rose Gabler, July 12, 2021

Rose Gable

Hey Friends,

Today I am writing about a very emotional topic when it comes to being creative. Vulnerability.

Being vulnerable is one of the most challenging hurdles to overcome because it comes with a lot of baggage. It is associated, tied to, and intertwined with so many other emotions and experiences in one moment that it becomes difficult to even comprehend its impact and influence on our thoughts and actions. 

When we think of times when we are vulnerable, we might begin to associate those experiences with feeling scared. Maybe we are nervous or fragile. We could be unprotected or feel exposed. Ultimately, we surround those times with being at risk of having negative experiences. 

While all of this may resonate with you and your memories of feeling vulnerable, I’m sure you can agree that when you tie this word, and all that comes along with it, to moments of personal expression it becomes even more detrimental for our current state of mind, and future possibilities. 

Being creative in the mindset of my definition of creativity, which is your unique ability to help produce new results, can be heavily hindered and stifled when the fears and anxieties surrounding vulnerability come into play. 

But let’s take a quick step back and reflect on why we might feel vulnerable, to begin with? 

Maybe we don’t want to overstep any boundaries? 

Maybe we don’t want to be cast out of the group? 

Maybe we don’t want to possibly offend anyone? 

Maybe we don’t want to fail?

There are countless reasons that we avoid experiences where we feel vulnerable, especially in the workplace, because we write a story in our minds of the possible long-term effects or results of stepping into an unknown experience or being creative in a new way. Stories such as, I might get fired if my ideas are too abstract or unrealistic. I might be made fun of. I might hurt someone else’s feelings. I might fail… and I’d be a failure… and no one would ever want to work with me again because they would always associate my ideas with being stupid and wrong. 

These thoughts literally continue to go down a deep dark rabbit hole, and while that process and that hole are meant to protect us because that’s how our minds are wired, we are allowing that subconscious mindset to direct our actions and our thoughts in negative ways. And, believe it or not, but there is a way to take this experience and use it to empower you, which I’ll get to shortly.