How to turn your weaknesses into strengths

Turning our weaknesses into strengths is, without a doubt, one of the biggest challenges we will have to face in order to take action and grow day by day as professionals.

But let’s be honest, none of us likes to be told where we fail. And even less do we like to accept it…

What was wrong with me in particular?

I treated my weaknesses as if they were a dark part of my personality that I had to hide and lock up under seven keys. And please, don’t let anyone see them!

That was a big mistake.

Everything changed when I understood that weaknesses are the raw material for change and that, together with strengths, they form the unity that enhances the growth of our personality.

That is why today I want to tell you the steps so that you too can transform your weaknesses into strengths:

Identification

Identify which behaviors and skills represent a weakness. Pay attention to the environment, the moment and the situation, but also pay attention to the emotions that happen inside you in these situations: nerves, anxiety, fear.

Acceptance

The next step is for you to accept that these weaknesses are part of you. If you set your mind to it, you can transform them, but today you must accept and love yourself in that way. If you don’t go through this stage of acceptance, any possibility of change or development will be extinguished.

Pretending that you don’t have them will generate a lot of pressure, stress and eventually, you will become very frustrated.

Practice

You’ve already realized that there’s something about you that you should change.

Well, find the best way to practice modifying that: practice, take courses, get help and replicate them on your own. For example: if you have trouble talking to your boss, sit down and practice different approaches, different words, different strategies. Do it over and over again.

Challenge

Once you’ve practiced enough, put yourself to the test. Look for a situation where you can test everything you’ve learned. If we’re back to talking to your boss, find him or her to talk about something that doesn’t put too much pressure on you and use it as practice. Observe the outcome and make adjustments as necessary to find the perfect way to relate to him.

Don’t forget your strengths

It often happens that by focusing so much on what’s missing, you forget to value what you already have. And that’s another big mistake we make too.

We are where we are because there is something we do well and it is not difficult to realize what it is if we pay a little attention to our context.

There we will discover that our actions, our way of seeing things and our treatment brings value and helps others.

Identify and know your strengths so that you know how and when to use them to have the desired effect. Look for and provide, in the right measure, moments to use them and observe how they impact others and you.

Strengths and weaknesses are two sides of the same coin. Naturally, our minds will lead us to think about what we always do wrong and not about what we do right.

Empowering both sides is our responsibility to improve on what we fail to do and to become better at what we are already good at.