6 steps to convert your weakness into strengths

We often think weakness is something to be ashamed of. However, in an increasingly competitive world, you will often feel like you have to hide them, dismiss them in some way, or overcompensate in other ways that are not natural. Your true power lies in how you act on your strengths and interpret and take action on your weaknesses.

By being mindful of these areas, you can better position yourself for success.

?Here are some excellent reasons why transforming your weakness into your strengths will help you make this your best year.

Sometimes you will take your strengths for granted because it’s the things that you do naturally, often without even thinking. You will often assume and expect that everyone else can do the same things you can, and it can be a huge realisation to discover this isn’t the case.

“Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.” —?Arnold Schwarzenegger.

?And when you have an opportunity to do what you do the best every day, your engagement and productivity will increase together with your overall happiness and well-being.

?It will help you to stop judging yourself and others:

Whether you know it or not, you will feel yourself and other people based on your strengths. Understanding how you see the world based on your strengths breaks down the judgment between you and helps you appreciate each other for what you bring rather than being frustrated by it.

?You will learn to manage your weaknesses better:

When you understand your strengths, you have an opportunity to learn about yourself at your best. It’s the same for your weaknesses. You have a superpower if you know what they are and learn to leverage them through understanding your weakness.

Even superheroes have an Achilles heel that can cause their superpowers to show up as weaknesses to themselves and others. When things don’t get done as quickly as you’d like, you might become impatient, which can lead to chaos and confusion. Recognising our triggers can help us catch and interrupt them and change course before they cause us problems.

When you’re not afraid of your weaknesses, it’s powerful and liberating. It’s the place where authentic learning and growth come from.

It allows you to be open to the fantastic contributions of other people around you and their strengths that will complement and support you in your weaknesses. When you hide or are afraid of your weaknesses, you push people away and isolate them because of a fear that you’re not good enough. Working with people who have strengths you don’t help you open up to different perspectives.

?Here are some tips that can help:

1.?Understand Who You Are:

“You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realise this, and you will find strength.” ―Marcus Aurelius.

You can’t turn a weakness into a strength if you’re unaware that the flaw exists. So start by figuring out what your weaknesses are.

2. Make an “I Wish I…” List:

“You never know how strong you are until being strong is your only choice.” ―Bob Marley.

?Now that you know your profile think about the things you know about yourself that frustrate you but have difficulty controlling. Are you messy? Not punctual? Difficult time meeting new people? Lack of attention to detail? Forgetful? Lazy? Don’t take enough action?

If you’re struggling to determine your weaknesses, ask someone you trust – a friend, a family member, a boss, or a trusted colleague. Tell them why you want to understand your weaknesses, and they’ll be more honest with you. The hard part is acknowledging these traits and realising that they’re not imperfections but simply individual details that make up the whole you.

?3. Utilise To-Do List Techniques:

“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, “I will try again tomorrow.” –Mary Anne Radmacher

Keep a to-do list and get all of your critical actions on the list and review it several times a day. If you’re messy or disorganised, there are systems available for things like that, and you can set calendar reminders for cleaning, organising, following up, etc. It is more difficult to find workarounds for challenges like anxiousness and irritability. However, there are ways to solve these issues too. Try to put things into context, take deep breaths, and apply relaxing techniques; slowly, you will see improvements. Finally, never stop trying to use that to your advantage!

?4. Work on Your Weakness:

“You are strong when you know your weaknesses. You are beautiful when you appreciate your flaws. You are wise when you learn from your mistakes.” ―Unknown.

It’s challenging to improve until you look honestly at your past failures and discover why they happened. It might not be much fun, but it’ll be worth it.

More often than not, the best defence against weakness is to overwhelm it with excellent preparation.

However, some skills are essential enough that it’s worth the extra effort to learn, practice, and achieve a basic level of competence. This practice isn’t always about winning; it’s sometimes about not losing.

?5. Don’t Address Everything at Once:

Your primary weaknesses are those for which you may want to seek additional resources and ongoing support.

“Sometimes you don’t realise your strength until you come face to face with your greatest weakness.” ―Susan Gale.

If you try to address all of your weaknesses at the same time, it is possible that you will soon become overwhelmed or discouraged. It is difficult to introduce (and maintain) drastic change. Consider which weaknesses you would most like to work on (no more than two or three) and those to which your current environment is most conducive. Be honest about whether or not it is genuinely an area you want to work on. Finally, increase your confidence by reminding yourself of how you developed each of your strengths. While some may have come to you naturally, it is quite possible that others required work and were once your primary weaknesses.

6. Embrace Your Weaknesses:

“No one saves us but ourselves. No one can, and no one may. We must walk the path.” ―Buddha.

We all have weaknesses, and we must work on eliminating them – on changing ourselves for the better. But change is difficult- sometimes challenging. Instead of trying to stop your weaknesses, how about you embrace them for what they are?

If you think hard enough, you’ll almost always find a strength corresponding to any weakness.

Critically it would help if you accepted that any weakness could be turned into a strength. Think about how you can use yours to your advantage.

Finally, don’t forget that you can continually improve in everything you do—more knowledge, understanding, training, practice, and more.

You’ll be much more confident about your value after you realise that it is more important to harness your strengths instead of dwelling on your weaknesses and converting them into positives. That will be rewarding for you both personally and professionally.

Connect with me [email protected] and lets chat about my ACE Accelerator program, which can help with any mindset issues.