Do you know how to show humility and be genuinely vulnerable?

Or are you one of those people who can never let their guard down and refuses to ever put or even imagine themselves in the lowered position?

No Yes lowering one's guard down is fatal.

All experience thus far points to no. Courage is an elusive thing though, everyone talks like it is some choice you make standing there one the precipice wondering why you're so scared and everyone else is so calm. As though it isn't a thing found inside you, everyone thinks that since they did it you can too. To make the 'choice' to have courage without having any is cheap bravado, you'll just stand there like an idiot with lead lined limbs waiting for yourself to do the thing you chose, very consciously, to do. My point is some people just can't open up that way, not entirely. Sometimes they just need the right environment or to be convinced that they aren't going to get hurt, or hurt someone in turn. Me, I'm the sort who has a strong feeling that I'll get rejected the moment I let my true self show, so it's easier to be a superficial creature. Don't get me wrong, I'm willing to open up some to certain people in certain scenarios, but its not like I'm eager to put myself out there. Better to be a clown than to be defined by my ineptitudes. Naturally this is a self harming cycle since it means I don't believe anyone when they tell me I'm not all that bad and thus my self image gets worse. Anyways I'm working on it, humans aren't static after all, but its not the sort of problem that one just 'chooses' to do and then immediately does it. Knowing that, for better or for worse, whoever you are opening up to will think differently of you is not a comforting though after all. Especially since you have no means for deflection since you showed them your true self.

From my life experiences, I've learned the value of humility. Things in life don't last. So, I appreciate all the good things going in my life while they are still around. Even when I'm in a position of power in real life, I always remember the days when I used to have nothing and I got where I'm at with help from others. There's power in being vulnerable. Despite people being self-centered and often projecting a public persona, being vulnerable lets me connect with others by giving them a space to take off their masks. So many wrong things could happen by being vulnerable. I'm putting my money on the kindness of strangers. Ultimately, it's like any other life choice - damned if I do and damned if I don't.

The short and sweet answer is, yes. I'm married, so I most certainly have to with my wife, as does she with me. As for others? It depends, I'm basically an open book, but to truly get any depth or show my true weaknesses, I have to trust you like a brother or sister. In other words, if I don't fully trust you, it's gonna be hard to see my vulnerabilities.