There is courage in finding one's weaknesses

Would you be brave enough to wholeheartedly accept and openly discuss what you are not capable of? Do you feel scared or are you making a habit of doing reflections regularly? I believe it is not a sign of weakness nor an excuse not to achieve your goals. On the contrary, it is a very good opportunity for us to improve on our crafts, on our selves. You may not even realize it but even the most optimistic person has his/her own personal issues. I have a couple of things under my sleeves too! 

Quote from tinybuddha.com

I was initially afraid of admitting that I am not an academically inclined person. Because I thought the only measure of it is by having the perfect set of grades through actively reciting in classes or if your favorite subjects are the hard sciences. All of which I am not.

I was initially afraid of admitting that I am not in my healthiest state considering my body weight. Because I was receiving a mixture of reactions from people - "you're okay," "you seem to be losing weight," "you are gaining weight," "you need to control your food intake." I thought I was just confused, hearing only what I wanted to hear. But in reality, I was little by little becoming really alarmed with no motivation to even start. 

I was initially afraid of admitting that I don't have that one thing I am perfectly good at. Because I was really embarrassed when I see or hear people who are experts in their own fields. I would compare myself to those who have finally figured out their niche and purpose. And I've always wondered why I am feeling less of the person I am now because of that. 

I was initially afraid of admitting that I am not one of the nicest person there is. Because I was concerned on how other people perceive me to be. I am also wondering, does it follow that the nicer you are, the more people will appreciate you? Why do other people still give negative comments once in a while even if you can't remember doing anything bad to them?

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Recognizing a weakness is very subjective to a person. It varies depending on his/her beliefs. Whatever may be lacking to me might be a good thing to someone else. For example, I may think that I lack social skills and may want to improve on that but others are perfectly fine with it because they personally prefer small circle of friends. In any case, my main point here is that the only way we can be a better version of our past selves is by going through the rigid process of identifying the things that we think we are inadequate with - addressing, analyzing and taking action for it. Besides, I think every single person is beautiful in his or her own way that our collective weaknesses is only a tiny fraction of our strength.

By conceding to the idea and eventually accepting the things that I don't have, I am finally working on my weight through exercising and learning to eat a more healthy and balanced diet. It also helps that I have a support group in my family where we go running, swimming and playing badminton (soon) together. I may not be the most academically intelligent person but I am pretty confident that I'm high in terms of emotional quotient. I may not have that ONE thing I am BEST at for now but I do have top three things I enjoy doing that gives me sense and purpose. I am still a believer of multiple intelligence, by the way. And lastly, I came to realize that people will always, ALWAYS have something to say about you. But it doesn't really define you as a person but rather theirs. Besides, I must be living my life beautifully for it to be a hot topic to talk about, don't you agree?

Turning a weakness into a strength - both literally and figuratively.

Through this process, it is inevitable to compare our achievements to others but I always say that we don't need to be envious of them because at one point in their own lives, they were also eyeing on us and thinking, "how come she is able to do things like this and that?" We need courage and wisdom in accepting that we are not perfect, that other people will be able to do things that we are not capable. But that does not make us less of a person, only that we are human - perfectly imperfect. The mixture of our strengths and weaknesses still make us able to contribute something good to the community around us. 

I hope that from this day forward you realize that there is beauty and courage in acknowledging your weaknesses because that is the starting point of modifying your self and focusing more on your  strengths. Don't say you don't have any strength. You are a unique and precious soul this world needs - always remember that.

P.S. Maybe I should write about strengths next time, don't you think? 😉