This week I want to touch on a subject we all shy away from. The small blemishes we cover up and hide from the world. That’s right, you guessed it… our weaknesses. As human-beings, we are all subject to weakness. That being said, you don’t exactly embrace your weakness, do you? You won’t parade around with them on display, let alone enjoy sharing them with others.

Speaking from personal experience, my biggest weakness is talking about my feelings and emotions. I absolutely hate it. Instead I let my thoughts run riot in my mind, wait until breaking point and then use some lame excuse as to why I’m crying my eyes out, because I can’t find two matching socks.

We all get days when we constantly ask the universe, ‘why me?’Unable to change your trail of thought from, ‘I can’t, I won’t, and I don’t’. We all need to stop seeing a weakness as a one-way street we can’t access. Instead, turn and focus on using them to jump start our strengths. Once we fully embrace our weakness, every single one of them, they will set us on the road to success.

No two beings are the same, that goes for your weakness too. Everyone is unique, that’s what makes us all special. Over time we’ve become aware of our weaknesses and do our best to keep them hidden. I say, to hell with it! For years I covered up my faults and flaws, only to realise I wasn’t being honest with myself. Like I’ve mentioned above, I hate talking about my feelings. But, once I embraced it, I realised that was only the case when discussing my problems with familiar faces and/or professionals. I would never fully open up to someone I knew or had read my files, partly because they already had an idea of who I was.

When it came down to it, talking to complete strangers, people I would probably never see again was easier. The Idea of telling someone something so personal about myself, having them listen to my story, knowing they can’t judge me on my past. It felt normal and came naturally, almost comforting in a way. I was no longer afraid anymore! Not only did it help me break down my barriers, it also unlocked the door to theirs. Once I shared my story, they began to tell me theirs and it helped me realise that I wasn’t alone. Sure, our weakness wasn’t the same nor our past, but we both had a burden on our shoulders and felt liberated after talking about it.

We try so hard not to be seen as weak or frail. What if we reversed it? Turn our weaknesses into our strengths. Hide them in plain sight for the world to see, don’t be afraid of them anymore. When it comes down to it, you have two options. Embrace your weaknesses, embrace all of them, in everything you do, channel them into something great. Or do nothing, let them hold you back in life and define who you are as a person. Make the change or accept it. Use them to your advantage when/where you can, stopping letting your weakness win.

Now ask yourself this, are you willing to make a change, if the answer is yes. How are you going to do this? Wanting to change and willing to change are two very different concepts. It’s about figuring out what you can accept and what you want to do differently. For example, I can be so contrary at times, my mum wants to strangle me. I’ve learnt to accept this, I can’t change it. It’s just who I am. One minute I don’t want dinner, the next I’m starving. I have fully embraced this and get on with it. In other instances, I am also hands down, the world’s biggest procrastinator. This is something I wanted to change, so I did. Now I try my best to follow through on plans or general activities/duties when I say I’m going to.

Sure, it’s taken time and discipline but, I’m the one who wants to make the change. So, I’m the only one who can do something about it. Same goes for everyone else reading this. You are the pilot, the captain of your ship, steer the wheel in your preferred direction. Knowing your weaknesses and taking charge is down to you. So, stop reading and start embracing who you are or get ready to make a change.