“The weaknesses of today lay the foundation for the strengths of tomorrow.”

–  Mind Convos

Sitting here this Friday night with my moments of core weakness being played back in my mind like a movie… a solemn, thought-provoking movie. I had spent the day highly optimistic, unusually aware and overwhelmed by my own “awesomeness” and now as the day is just about retiring to an end… the solemn thoughts arise:

Can humans ever be completely free of weaknesses and character flaws?

If the answer is no, then why do we worry so much about our own or other people’s weaknesses? Also, do we give up on trying to rid ourselves of our weaknesses and just accept ourselves (and others) as we are?

Sometimes when I think about my weaknesses and compare it to that of the general population, I am tempted to think that “well… they aren’t so bad, after all so many people are probably a lot worse than I am.” But then again these thoughts hit me:

-No weakness is better or worse than another:

Often times we make excuses for some of our weaknesses and regard them as unimportant then go ahead to criticize heavily, other kinds of weaknesses (even the society is guilty of this). We even go on to celebrate certain weaknesses, elevating them into some form of strength for example some people see liars and cheats as “tough” people who are bold enough to get what they want. Womanizing and alcoholism are being celebrated in certain areas of the world.

However, a weakness is a weakness so long as it produces an undesired end. A weakness so ‘simple’ as lying can lead someone to becoming a murderer overnight while the one who gets enraged and violent may never kill a soul in the process. 

TIP: Never ignore a weakness…

No weakness is too small or too great to be ignored. Don’t let that moment of weakness slide by, get a hold of it and let it propel your desire to work harder and improve on yourself.

Let self-development be a constant part of your life and you’d be amazed at how truly awesome you’d become eventually.

-Our weaknesses are blessings in disguise:

If all humans were perfect then there would be nothing left to learn in the world. Life then becomes really boring with very little to look forward to. Many (if not all) of our mistakes are born in our moments of weakness.

A lot of the great influencers in history were people who chose to learn from their own mistakes and go into the world to make meaningful impact.

When we learn from our mistakes we become wiser beings and therefore qualify to teach others and help them grow and become better as well.

TIP: Shift your focus from making mistakes to learning lessons

Never waste time fretting over your mistakes rather, worry about whether you learnt any lessons at all from them. So when next that depression over your weaknesses pops up you know just how to send it right out the door of your mind and instead get to work by taking those lessons down and strategizing a great move to turn those weaknesses around into amazing strengths.

-Our weaknesses are relative to time and circumstance:

Take a moment to reflect on your past, while you were a child, a teenager, a young adult and so on, and you’d find certain weaknesses you had back then that has somehow disappeared over the years probably as you developed and attained maturity.

However, note that some weaknesses never really go away. Just like a virus that gets mutated and stops responding to prescribed drugs, these weaknesses simply take on a new form which is a developed version of what they used to be.

Also, when you are around certain types of people, things or environments certain kinds of weaknesses pop up. For example; A man who gets all uneasy and sexually burdened whenever a fair, pretty lady is close by or in a conversation with him, someone who gets tempted to steal whenever money is kept within his reach (he wouldn’t steal your clothes or tooth brush though), someone who gets really angry and explosive whenever his mother is insulted.

TIP: Never wish a weakness away; take solid steps to make it happen.

Identify that time and/or circumstance when your hidden weaknesses come alive and prepare to tell yourself “NO, I am NOT doing this (whatever that is) this time…. I am aware of this moment and I’m also aware of the mistakes I am likely to make. But I will not make them this time because I am ready to fight this temptation.”

Also, stay observant to your own character and habits. Fish out those weaknesses that have taken a new/developed form and get to work to eliminate them.

-A weakness is like a cancerous cell in the body:

If left unattended to, a cancerous cell can spread over and infect other cells in the body. Many times we forget or take no notice of a particular weakness that we have just because it does not occur regularly.

When you have a weakness for example, getting unusually angry whenever your family member is insulted and displaying all sorts of violence both verbally and otherwise, no matter how calm you are as a person, on a normal day, every time you exhibit this flaw you are sharpening the saw of anger in your life and very soon, you’d lose that calm personality that you are ordinarily known for and become the “angry beast” that everyone despises.

Also, if you have a bad habit or weakness of telling lies for example, this can in no time, grow into deeper or worse behavior such as committing murder just to cover up those lies and deceit.

Other examples are envy, jealousy, arrogance etc, these forms of weaknesses are “cancerous” in nature. They lead to even worse weaknesses that seem to threaten every ounce of good you have in you.

TIP: Just like all types of cancer, early detection is KEY!

One of the best ways to detect a weakness of yours is by REFLECTION and SELF AWARENESS. There really can’t be self-development if you do not reflect. Take time to think about your previous thoughts and actions, your habits and character.

Don’t wait for the world to take notice of your weaknesses before you do because sometimes people could be really harsh with the way they make them known to you. It is better to detect that “cancer” before it overtakes your personality and turns you into someone you never wish to be.

AFTER NOTES

Our opinion(s) about our weaknesses and our attitude towards them is the ultimate decider of whether they are indeed blessings in disguise or life long curses.

We are all “flawed beings”, struggling on a daily basis to conquer the “wolf” within us.

 But… we must never get tired of trying to better ourselves against our weaknesses.

Many people tend to dedicate a fairly unreasonable part (or time) of their lives to judging other people with respect to their weaknesses forgetting or in many cases, ignoring the fact that they are just about as flawed as any other human out there.

Instead of judging others unfairly, we should carefully point out their mistakes to them and offer advice and possible corrections because in the end…

“ The measure of how well we have lived rests on how much effort we put into our own lives and that of others; how much energy we invest into turning those weaknesses around into amazing strengths that can positively impact the world.”

– Mind Convos