Honor Your Weaknesses

When I was growing up one of the things I noticed about myself was that I was very shy and at times painfully shy.  When my mother would talk with me in a public setting she would always say to me, "Girl, if you don't speak up...I can't hear you."  This would embarrass me and I would usually turn red, become irritated, and not say anything at all.   When people would tell me I was
quiet, I would usually become defensive and tell them I am not and then offer a list of examples.

The fact is, I was very shy and I did not like to be the center of attention.  My favorite pass time when I was younger was reading a book.  I had friends but I did not feel the need to be with them all the time.  As I matured, my shy personality remained but it served me differently.

I always thought being shy was a weakness because that was what I felt and people would say that I must learn to stick up for myself.  (as if being quiet meant I was a coward) Until one day a teacher wrote a letter for me to get into a program and I will never forget that one of the statements she used to describe me was, "...still waters run deep."   I ran home that day and asked my mother what that meant.  She told me that it means you are quiet and calm, but there is something fascinating and exciting going on underneath (in your mind).

I thought yeah, there is. I will never forget that statement because it gave me the confidence to be exactly who I am.  I saw being shy and quiet as a weakness but when I became proud of it and confident about who I was, it turned from a weakness to a strength.

Now, that quiet spirit has served me to become intuitive, creative, very observant, and a great listener.

You may have things about your personality that have been labeled as a weakness.  Maybe you have been trying to cover it up.  Underneath your weakness is a strength that is a waiting to happen.  For example, if you show me a person that is very lazy I will show you a person who lacks confidence and a person who is scared to try.  You see there is a strength waiting to come out.

The thing about weaknesses is that most people are told so often by so many that they have a particular weakness, so they begin to stare so long at it that it becomes the only thing they see.  Now, as one hopefully progresses through life, one will always notice a weakness but that's just the universe pulling you into something greater to learn about yourself.

My current weakness is that I am very impatient.  I have never felt like this and I get frustrated often.  But each day I learn to deal with it a little differently.  Sometimes I count my blessings and other times I smell flowers.  I do things that make me have to see the beauty in my moments.

So...am I still quiet? Of course.  But now when people tell me I am quiet, I just respond with a smile and say, "Yes, I know."