Turning Weaknesses to Strengths
I’ve learned lately that getting cozy with my weaknesses, as jarring and uncomfortable as that may be, is a far better way to overcome them than awkwardly avoiding those puppies forever. We’re taught as children growing up to be strong, tough, and whether it’s intended or not, we’re also taught to avoid our weaknesses. We learn to work hard, do our best and put our best foot forward in every situation. We all have weaknesses though. They’re unavoidable, as hard as we try, they are always going to be a part of us and that’s perfectly ok! How boring would life be if we were great at everything? There wouldn’t be anything to work at, improve upon or ways for us to transform ourselves and truly, where’s the fun in that?
Be they mental, physical or emotional unfortunately, none of us are above having weaknesses. While we may not be above having them, we are so much greater than those weaknesses and it is through them that we grow stronger. We grow through the grit, through the grind and the gumption that must become engrained in us in order to overcome the challenges we face.
As nice as it would be for our weaknesses to transform into strengths magically on their own, we all know nothing in life can be that simple. We must be unwilling to give in to our weaknesses in order to force ourselves to grow. Easier said than done right?
I’ve discovered that turning my weaknesses into strengths comes most easily (because no, it’s still not always easy) when I do these three things.
Acknowledge your weakness. First step is always admitting there might be an area of your life that you’re uncomfortable with, that presents itself challenging to you or requires you to work harder than you need to in other aspects of life. By acknowledging your weaknesses and coming to terms with the fact that you have them you can next begin the work required to overcome them. Often our reaction to noticing a chink in our armor is to avoid it, act like it doesn’t exist or to overcompensate in other areas. This keeps us from being able to actually push ourselves to grow and expand. Without acceptance of that weakness you will never find the strength or develop the tools you need to overcome it.
Discover the discomfort. Why does this particular situation make you uncomfortable? Why do you feel public speaking, interacting with people you don’t know or speaking up when you see something going wrong are situations in which you feel weak? Acknowledging that we have our weaknesses in certain situation is critical, but even more critical than acknowledging our weaknesses is discovering the discomfort they bring us and why. Maybe you don’t like public speaking because you feel the audience is judging you? Maybe you don’t like it because you feel you’re a forgetful person and you don’t want to overlook the material? When we get to the root of why we don’t feel as strong or confident in some circumstances as we might like, we can determine the best methods for combating those discomforts. We can develop means through which we can rationalize in a realistic manner those discomforts and fears and develop ways to cope with them enough to push through.
Seek opportunities for growth. Finally, you must seek opportunities to push yourself and force yourself to expand in the areas you feel you’re weak. If we don’t push ourselves on a regular basis and seek out opportunities to translate our weaknesses into strengths, the challenges we face will forever remain a struggle for us. We cannot change our weaknesses to strengths without proving to ourselves (and at times to others) that we are capable of more than we think. We must prove that we are stronger than we believe, that we can handle more than we think and that we are able to come out on top of situations that present themselves as challenging to us. These chances to prove ourselves aren’t likely to just fall into our lap and we must therefore actively seek out opportunities on our own. The more opportunities you find and navigate successfully, the more “proof” you’ll have for yourself when your mind starts to doubt your abilities in future situations. And of course, practice makes perfect and the more times you push yourself to overcome your weaknesses, the more comfortable you’ll feel in facing them.
We could of course walk around through life ignoring our weaknesses. We could of course also walk through life avoiding opportunities or holding back because we feel we’re not strong enough to overcome or achieve our dreams due to our doubts and perceived weaknesses. There really is no fun in that though! It might not always be a bucket of fun facing our fears and transitioning our weaknesses in to strengths, but the rewards of doing so are totally worth it!
Light, Love & the Highest Vibes,
Lon
