Being vulnerable and expressing ourselves despite the judgment of others

Elliot is continually stepping out into the unknown and challenging his comfort zone. He does this seemingly unaffected by the judgements and beliefs of others.

I asked about the earlier years of his life and he shared with me that things haven’t always been like this.

As a kid he was cut down for asking too many questions and experienced rejection from others when sharing his early video projects. As a result he stopped sharing himself with others.

But overtime he’s managed to step outside external judgements and beliefs and express himself with even more freedom and authenticity.

We look at how we can give the gift of listening to each other; how Elliot steps outside his comfort zone, and his latest project - 30 Days of Dance - which involves him dancing in public everyday for a month, making himself vulnerable for all to see and encouraging others to join him in this open form of expression.

Highlights and Takeaways

* Listening to others is a free gift you can give to anyone.

* By listening to others with no intention of responding you give them space to share themselves with you.

* People’s personal stories (past beliefs which are based on their own experiences) can be triggered by how we express ourselves. Their reactions have nothing to with us and what we are doing.

* We are conditioned to think if something isn’t pleasing or entertaining then it is wrong.

* We shut down parts of our expression because we experienced a painful situation and feel the expression of ourselves was the cause of that painful experience.

* Having an experience outside of our comfort zone shows us we are capable of doing things we previously thought we couldn’t do.

* When you’re vulnerable with others you encourage others to be vulnerable with you.

* We attempt to keep other people happy because we want to feel accepted and feel that we belong.

* We can feel that we have to act a certain way just to be accepted. But by being yourself you naturally attract people who accepted you as you are and not for who you’re trying to be.

* Removing the importance of what other people think of us allows us to step outside of our comfort zone and just be ourselves.

Show Notes

* Ben: When did we first meet?

* Elliot: We met in the middle of Hay Street mall during an event The Liberators held which was about dancing in public and providing a space for people to express themselves freely. I have a video background and you have a video background and we came together as videographers and we were talking about the direction of the night.

* Ben: That’s right, I remember. There was a DJ being carted around on a trolley. The intention of that event was to encourage members of the public to just dance, it was a Friday evening after work. It was to encourage everyone to just dance and express themselves.

* Elliot: I would say Break the loop, break the routine. Break out of. “OK, it’s Friday. Let’s go out to a pub and have some drinks.” We’re providing a space to try something different. If you feel you have the confidence to step out of your comfort zone, here’s the place.

* We’re facilitators; we’re there to provide a space for others to come back to your core and release your inner-child without the fear of looking bad in front of others, really giving up the judgments and the internal dialogue that goes on in your head like, “what will happen if I do this?” It’s a neutral space, you can come into however you desire.

* Ben: You mentioned space for the inner-child to be expressed.