Why Softness Is the Strongest Thing You’ll Ever Do
Meeting a hard world with an open heart.
Sometimes, the world feels so sharp.
Harsh words. Sharp elbows. Judgment—edges everywhere.
Poking, prodding, daring me to put up my guard.
And I do.
I catch myself armoring up, bracing for impact. It feels like survival…but it’s also exhausting.
For so long, I thought the choice was simple:
Keep my heart open and risk being hurt, or close it off and stay safe.
But a mentor reframed it for me:
“It’s not about being open or closed. It’s about being open and willing—willing to be bruised occasionally.”
Ugh.
I felt the truth of those words, but I hadn’t yet found the courage to live them.
To meet force with softness instead of resistance.
To trust that staying open—truly open—is stronger than the illusion of safety behind my walls.
It reminded me of Tai Chi: how softness doesn’t resist but redirects. How it’s not about collapsing or giving in—it’s about holding your ground with grace.
Softness is steady.
It’s fluid.
It holds its power without needing to fight back.
Still, I ask myself:
Am I brave enough to stay soft in a hard world?
And here’s what I’ve come to realize:
The sharpness I feel in the world often reflects the sharpness I carry within:
The self-judgment,
The inner critic,
The part of me that learned to be hard on myself to survive.
When I notice that, I ask:
Can I love the part of me that’s trying so hard to protect me?
Can I offer tenderness to the younger version of myself who believed hardening was the only way to stay safe?
When I do, something shifts.
The sharp edges soften.
First inside me, then around me.
The more I nurture my being with gentleness, the less I feel the need to meet the world’s harshness with my own.
I stop bracing.
I stop fighting.
I just… soften.
It’s not that the world stops being sharp.
It’s that I stop letting it cut so deeply.
Softness, I’ve learned, is not fragility. It’s strength in its most expansive, grounded form.
Living with an open heart in a hard world is one of the bravest things I’ve ever done.
It’s choosing to love so deeply—myself, my wounds, the people around me—that even the bruises can’t close me off.
I can be soft because I trust that I’m already held.
And from that place of tenderness, I can meet the world with love.
And love changes everything.
If softness were weakness the flowers would never grow - Amna Dhanani
Tiffany May Yan Chan
Find me on LinkedIn
or Book a 1:1 CallWhenever you’re ready there are two ways I can help you:
Akashic Records Session: Dive deep into the wisdom of your soul with a 1:1 session.
Coaching and Mentorship: Learn how to live and lead as your Higher Self. Interested? Let’s Chat.
.
Boy does this resonate, especially right now. Thank you for this beautiful reminder, Tiffany, and for helping me remember the power that my softness holds.