"The success you're looking for is doing the hard thing — just having the disclosure conversation."
Consider this: The herpes talk is not about getting accepted or rejected. Believe it or not, getting "accepted" isn't the success you're ultimately looking for. Having the disclosure conversation itself is the success. Having the herpes talk takes courage. It's doing a hard thing for all the right reasons. If you get a "yes" then it's the icing on the cake. Regardless of the outcome, you can look back and still feel good about that experience and how you handled yourself in the face of something difficult. It is good for your heart, your confidence, flexing your values ... and for the good of the other person. And having these courageous conversations can become a practice of self-love. Because you're not giving the other person the ultimate power to reject or accept you. You're informing them and giving them a choice, all from a place of care and empathy. That's practicing being a decent human being in the world. You get to enjoy that. The more you can sink into the conversation, that will skyrocket you and your development and your own self-worth. Practice being present through that conversation. It's an opportunity for connection if you're there for it.
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