Strengths and Weaknesses

3. Flawless

            In this suggestion, Rendall points out that your weaknesses aren’t just weaknesses, but a lot more. He states that each characteristic that we consider a weakness is paired with a counterpart, a strength. An example would be the strength of dedication being paired with the weakness of stubbornness. An example of this that I have definitely seen in myself is the pairing between enthusiasm and being obnoxious. Being a very enthusiastic person can be a good thing, but sometimes I do get a little over-excited. This is helpful to my creative life because it shows that even my characteristics that I view negatively have a positive side to them. Just because I am not particularly good at something, doesn’t mean that I have to let it bring me down. Each weakness that we have is just another hint to a strength we may have not yet discovered. 

5. Foundation

        I think that this is a very helpful piece of advice. When looking at weaknesses, I would say that most people’s initial thought is that they are something that needs to be changed. This point tells us to do the opposite. Instead of focusing on our weaknesses, we need to focus on our strengths. Our strengths are what we are naturally good at in life. They are the things about us that we do without trying, and we enjoy them. The reason that I think this is an important point is because people really focus on their weaknesses too often. I know that I do. Stressing on our weaknesses only brings us down, focusing and building on our strengths enables us to better ourselves by doing something that we enjoy.

            When looking at myself, I feel like there are a lot of weaknesses that I could think of. I’m a procrastinator, easily distracted, unorganized, and indecisive. All four of these things are very difficult characteristics to have when it comes to the creative process. It is at its worse when I am stuck with writer’s block. After reading the article however, I really am starting to stop beating myself up over them so much. I know that even though I am a procrastinator, I work really well under pressure; even though I am easily distracted, I can really bust ideas out once I’m on a roll; although I’m unorganized, I have a lot of things going on inside my brain; and my indecisiveness helps a lot when it comes to dealing with other people who can’t make up their minds. I know that each of my weaknesses has its own complimentary strength that goes along with it. Although I do see where Rendall is coming from in saying that we shouldn’t try and fix our weaknesses, I do think that I could improve on mine a little. It wouldn’t be difficult at all to try and keep my papers more in order or to start projects a little earlier. In the end though I guess he is right, all of these factors are what make me the creative individual that I am.