Lean Into Awkwardness

Progress can’t happen without vulnerability. I believe that we have to get messy with hard conversations in order to affect positive change and improve our relationships. Hard conversations require vulnerability, and vulnerability comes with discomfort.

Figuring ourselves out and talking to others with different perspectives from our own can get really awkward. But the reward is great. Even in private processes of writing or creating we’ll rub up against ideas or obstacles that run counter to our current beliefs. It’s important to embrace the awkwardness and work with the thing in front of you. Avoiding it does nothing.

Some people will never want to have awkward conversations. In which case they’re not the right person for you. I love what Michelle Obama talks about in one of her recent podcast episodes. She compares finding the right partner to picking a teammate in basketball: you don’t want someone who will just dribble the ball and not take any shots. You want someone who is strong and will make you strong in return.

Strength is shown when we engage in situations that make us feel awkward.