The Power in Human Connection

How we accomplish more together and find strength in our vulnerability:

After last week, I must gratefully and humbly acknowledge the power in human connection.

It’s a universal truth, but also a very relevant one in my present life. To be honest, I was nervous to reinstate Soul Reason. Imposter Syndrome had paralyzed my creativity for the better part of a year. Even after wrangling my thoughts into some semblance of a story, I still wasn’t sure if I was doing the right thing. Perched on (merely the tip of) my vulnerability iceberg, I held my breath and hit “send” on a blog post I figured was just a formality.

And then I returned to normal life; playing with baby, cooking dinner, getting her ready for bed, chatting with my husband. I nearly forgot I had embraced a different part of me. But nerves gripped me later that night as I picked up my phone, thinking maybe one or two of you had seen my post, and it was over, and I’d let my dream go because it wasn’t significant enough to matter…

BUT YOU SHOWED UP.

You read. You liked. You commented. You shared. You reached out to me. And you have done something more for me than you even realized.

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There’s a lot of narrative these days about how we should leave others out of the equation when establishing our personal truths. From a self-worth standpoint, this is absolutely true. However, when these truths are about accomplishing our goals, we are so much stronger together than we are alone.

This occurs in varying degrees. It’s not just about the group efforts that have been successful; it applies to personal achievements, as well. Yes, you may have formulated your own objective, determined steps to reach said objective, and then navigated those steps to triumph.

But, I encourage you to look beyond your immediate scope—sometimes it’s obvious, sometimes it’s not. Was there someone who listened as you solidified your thoughts? Someone who brought you food, or sent you an encouraging text? Spotted you, supported you, validated you, or simply provided a mental break? These may seem like small acts, but they were indeed instrumental in helping you get to where you were meant to be, if only because they are a part of your final story.

I believe that each one of us has an internal capability to accomplish what we’re meant to do, but the most powerful moments come when we are willing to unleash our ideas so that others may then apply their internal capabilities to the final goal. Your achievement rides on not only your strength, but the strength of others, as well. Applying multiple perspectives can lead to an even more positive, influential result.

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If you’re confident in yourself and your idea(s), the above is relatively easy. I also recognize that any lapse in this confidence makes for an immediately terrifying situation. The trolls, the judgment, the doubt... it can be overwhelming. Therefore, I am here to promise you that there is an infallible strength in vulnerability, because it’s part of the human condition. Everyone has felt it, which further makes it a part of our connection to one another.

One of the most complex things about this life is that, though everyone experiences this vulnerability, somewhere along the line it became commonplace to tuck those feelings away instead of embrace them. This is dangerous because the more we hide pieces of ourselves, then the more we divide ourselves from our true potential for good. The people trolling you, judging you, doubting you, haven’t quite come to terms with their own vulnerability. Their smallness is in them, not you, and they need human connection more than anyone.

For when we experience a true connection, it happens when one fills in the figurative gap of another, not with judgment or malice, but simply with what is needed for wholeness. We must each be brave enough to illuminate our gaps, finding strength in the truth that we all have them. It also means that, as someone has restored ours, it is then our responsibility to restore another’s.

I conceptualized this business based on the strength of a pure human bond. The positive impact we can have on each other is immeasurable and infinite, whether it is known or not. You have shown me the truth in this, so I carry on. Thank you, my friends.

XO,

M