Is Your Heart Open to Love?
It’s showing up to a date and admitting, “I haven’t been on a date in a while, and I’m nervous.” It’s baring your less pretty side with “Your divorce sounds rough. I know I really struggled to stay positive during mine.” It’s being real. It’s having an open heart.
However, even the bravest of us have well-honed defenses that we unknowingly summon. We know about the obvious escapes that keep us disconnected from our feelings, such as nachos, wine, Facebook, and staying crazy busy. Yet many sneakier defenses rear their heads during dates and might be sabotaging romantic connections.
Sarcasm
Occasional sarcastic banter is fun and clever, but it easily ventures into negative territory. You don’t feel safe showing your vulnerable side to someone with an edge.
Helping
Are you always giving advice? Offering to run errands or make professional connections? Of course, generosity is important to nurture any new relationship. But it can also become an identity that gets in the way of opening up and receiving.
Never accepting help
This is a close cousin to helping. If you rarely accept help of any kind – even travel tips from someone’s cousin who took the same vacation you’re planning – you keep your heart all sealed up. It’s safer to say “No, thanks. I appreciate the offer, but I’m good.” But it doesn’t create intimacy.
Seeking praise
This can take many forms. Perhaps you’re bragging to elicit “Wow! You’re amazing!” Or you’re downplaying your accomplishments to evoke “No, you should be proud of yourself!” It takes courage to show up with an attitude of “Here I am! I like myself and hope you do too.” And be okay if they don’t.
Keeping it light
I’m guilty of this. Instead of tolerating awkward silences, I launch into my “pleasant chit chat persona” that’s been honed through decades of interviewing people for a living. It’s small talk at its finest, but it doesn’t help you “get real” with anyone.
Sometimes we may need our armor. Perhaps we instinctively know it’s not safe to open up to another person. We might want to summon our most fake selves to get through uncomfortable situations. But more often than not, we don’t need our defenses, which are simply habits that don’t help us find love.
What do you think – do you use different tactics to avoid becoming vulnerable with another person?
(Via: eHarmony blog)