The Vulnerability Threshold — Understanding Who You Are
Have you ever had a friend you just couldn’t seem to connect with, no matter how many years passed?
Or the complete opposite — a connection so instant and natural it felt like you’d known each other forever? That is the vulnerability threshold at work. Your capacity to be vulnerable around someone is a universal instinctual feeling, almost like an invisible wall or barrier that either keeps you distant or allows closeness to flourish.
The Vulnerability Threshold
Everyone has a vulnerability threshold — a boundary where you feel truly seen and accepted by someone else. Certain people who allow you to cross this line end up being lifelong relationships.
The key to breaking through this threshold lies in being comfortable in your own skin. You take the risk of being vulnerable, showing up authentically regardless of the outcome. It’s powerful — and liberating. This is acceptance for who you are regardless of the outcome and I think its the most authentic way to live. But it’s also risky. Rejection can sting, and being pushed back behind those walls can leave scars.
The Truth Behind Acceptance
Still, understanding this threshold is just the surface of self-empathy. It teaches you a fundamental truth: there was never anything wrong with you. You never had to change. The people who reject you simply aren’t meant for you — and that’s okay.
Some people grow up lucky around a fostering environment taught their whole life where they’re taught they’re enough just as they are. Others face a constant battle for acceptance. Yet eventually, the same epiphany dawns: not everyone is for me, and that’s perfectly fine.
Not everyone accepts this.Some spend their lives in the shadows of their true selves, trying on masks to gain approval from others — yet never from themselves.
Grounding Yourself
The one thing you can do amidst this journey is find an anchor, something that grounds you in self-love and reminds you of your worth, no matter what others think. Something that allows you to treat yourself with love. Something that grounds you.
It could be anything — a morning run, playing an instrument, painting, or losing yourself in a good book. Seemingly pointless, but repeating any hobby you are proud of everyday reminds you of who you are despite how others see you.
