Strengths and Weaknesses

Finding Strength...Embracing Weakness

I’ve considered writing this post for a number of years, but I keep putting it off.

I can be a procrastinator. 

 

I’m joking. Actually, the post isn’t about being a procrastinator. It is about coming face-to-face with our personal weaknesses. And our strengths. The beginning of 2023 seems to be an appropriate time for a bit of self-assessment.

 

I’ve long contended that what is our weakness is also our strength. As well, what is our strength may also be our weakness. 

 

Consider honesty. My late husband was honest. Most people consider that a strength. It is... but Tom’s honesty could be brutal. For instance, a Chinese family invited us over for dinner one evening. They prepared a treat just for us: a Japanese style baked fish complete with scales, eyes, everything. Tom took one look and stated, “I’m sorry. I can’t eat that. It looks too much like bait to me!”  

 

When I kicked him a warning shot under the table, he looked directly at me and said, “Why are you kicking me under the table?”

 

The thing is, as people came to know Tom, they came to appreciate his honesty. There was never any second guessing what he really thought. 

 

Here's another example: A perfectionist may drive his or her peers nuts by seemingly taking forever to get a job done, but if I ever need brain surgery, I hope the doctor is just that… A perfectionist.

 

The kid in school always asking questions is the one who grows up finding answers. 

 

I think you get the idea.

 

So as for me as a procrastinator? 

 

I consider myself more of what I call a “muller-overer.”  Don’t judge. I know that’s not a word. It simply means I tend to put a lot more thought into the choices and decisions I make than meets the eye. Yet, I don’t put off life threating decisions. I am ever mindful of time boundaries. 

 

But I don’t make decisions lightly or act in haste, either. I have thought about the problem, story, or situation from every angle I before I act. 

 

Even then, I try to wait until I am sure the time is right not only in my eyes, but in God’s eyes as well. 

 

While I may not write as fast as others in the writing world or finish a project as quickly, I’ve come to appreciate the notion that putting something aside, thinking it through, and waiting for the right time yields success with satisfaction. 

 

How about you? What is your weakness? How might you recast that weakness as a strength?