Sharing, Vulnerability, and the Value of Connection
- Who among the people close to you do you want to remain in your life?
- How would you like to leave your mark on their lives?
- How often do you feel the desire to open up and share your deepest emotions?
- How do you plan to cope with the negative effects of information and emotions you’ve been holding inside for a while?
Throughout this journey of self-discovery, we’ve explored many things about ourselves.
We’ve talked not only about analysis but also about the importance of sharing — about not bottling things up.
It’s easy to keep things to ourselves, live in our own minds, and never share.
You may have realized this too.
Because sharing requires breaking down your prejudices, confronting yourself, wrestling with your ego, being confident, and dealing with your fears — and human nature often prefers the easiest path.
But what is the cost of choosing the easy path?
The price is more stress, more anger, more fear.
The result is a decline in quality of life, poor communication, feelings of loneliness — and even death.
Yes, stress shortens your life.
You might say “That won’t happen to me” or “I avoid all this confrontation anyway,” but maybe that’s just because you’ve never left your self-imposed prison and don’t really know what freedom feels like.
And this doesn’t just apply to emotions — it applies to your ideas for projects, activities, friendships, or the possibility of a happy romantic relationship too.
When you share your ideas, they won’t get “stolen”; on the contrary, they will become clearer.
You might even find someone who shares your thinking and bring your ideas to life together, or someone who will support you.
When you share ideas with friends, they won’t necessarily think you’re talking nonsense.
Maybe that spontaneous activity you suggest will turn into something really fun and deepen your friendships — or maybe it will even raise your standing among your friends.
Romantic relationships can feel like the hardest arena for this.
So many people can’t face the fear of rejection.
But if you never open up, that relationship will never happen — and you’ll never know whether it could have worked.
Maybe the other person feels exactly the same way and it’s not happening simply because you didn’t take the first step.
Don’t be afraid to share your feelings.
Share, so you realize you’re not alone.
So you understand that you’re probably exaggerating things in your mind.
So you can see that what you think are “problems” may not be problems at all.
Share, so you can get advice, find solutions.
What’s the worst that could happen?
You might get laughed at.
You might sound silly.
You might get rejected.
But would that be the end of the world?
Probably everything you know and hear about today was laughed at at some point:
If Metin Hara had said “I’m going to be with Adriana Lima”, what would you have thought?
When people first heard that Roberto Carlos was going to play for Sivasspor, what was their reaction?
When people believed the Earth was flat, what happened to the first person who said it was round?
How about all the famous examples of people who were rejected from jobs, fired, expelled from schools, or who dropped out but went on to achieve great things?
In short: rejection and disappointment are part of the process.
If you don’t try, you’ll never know.
Life offers us millions of opportunities — we only choose one at a time.
That opportunity leads to millions of others.
So why ignore opportunities?
Why lock ourselves in a prison made of our own emotions?
Why treat things that are completely natural — things everyone has felt at some point — as if we are the first ones ever to experience them, and waste our brief lives worrying?
Sharing is beautiful and important in every sense.
Of course, sharing doesn’t mean turning the people around us into emotional dumping grounds.
It’s about a mutual process — understanding, explaining, empathizing, and overcoming together.
Some people open up easily, while others are like closed boxes waiting to be opened.
That’s why it’s important to choose the right people, the right type of sharing, and the most appropriate way to share.
If you don’t share because of a lack of confidence, sit down and think:
- When was the last time you shared something that led to a positive outcome?
- Who supports you the most when it comes to your ideas?
- Who do you think would understand you best?
Don’t be harsh with yourself.
Don’t compare yourself to others.
Be aware of your thoughts — think about why you think the way you do.
Think about your values.
Consider potential negative outcomes and analyze them, but don’t let them intimidate you.
If you knew you would die tomorrow, what would matter to you?
Probably nothing except the time you have left.
Think about it this way:
You don’t know when you’ll die — but you will someday.
So think about how valuable time is, and how trivial most of our daily worries really are.
Keep a journal.
Read it from time to time.
Pay attention to recurring themes and patterns.
Now that this “sermon” is over, we’re closing today’s chapter too.
bahadirhancicek 
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