The importance of admitting your weaknesses and growing as an individual

I used to bottle up all of my emotions inside of my head. There was always this thought in my head that if I told people what I was really thinking, then I would be judged beyond belief. It wasn’t until I was in college and hit rock bottom that I admitted my weaknesses and sought help. All I can say is that I am glad I did. Once I finally opened up, I realized that you don’t become weaker by admitting your weaknesses, you actually become stronger.

My life has been nothing short of incredible. I have an amazing family that would do anything for me, I have friends that care about me, and I have a roof over my head.

But I didn’t always see it this way. Even though I have been blessed beyond belief, there was still a part of me that was never satisfied. No matter what I had accomplished in life, I was never able to pat myself on the back or say good job. Depression slowly creeped in and started taking over my mind. I thought that the only way to be happy was to be perfect. Having a fancy house, fast car, a beautiful girlfriend, these were all things that drove me and motivated me to be happier.

When you are denying your weaknesses, you only pursue your “motivators” even harder. It is almost like a drug. The harder it is to get, the more that you want it. All I needed in life was money, luxury, and fame. There was not anything or anyone that was going to stand in the way of me and my goals. Except for myself…

It is crazy to think how backwards life can sometimes be and how I did/do prioritize my life. All of the things that I thought would make me strong were actually making me a weaker individual. All of the things that I thought would make me weak were actually making me stronger.

How can this be?

By chasing money, fame, and perfection, I was only hurting myself and beating myself up. I was losing confidence and self-worth because I was never happy with myself. I never patted myself on the back or acknowledged any individual effort.  My values were not clear and my future was blurry. The longer that I went without what I thought of as success, the smaller that I felt inside and the more depressed I became.

When I started to admit my weaknesses, I was once again able to find my personal values. It takes a strong individual to admit to others that there is something wrong with them. Especially with social media around today, we only see the perfection of others. I wondered why people were so happy and why I never was. Once I got over the fear of sharing my thoughts and my story, I was able to find my inner strength. Take blogging for example. I was so scared about what my family would think of my blog. But I told them anyways. Once I told them, that weakness and fear that I help had turned into a strength. I showed confidence in myself and was sharing what values. All of these attributes are what make me happy, not some inanimate object.

If you really want to be a strong individual, you need to learn the importance of admitting your weaknesses. Nobody is perfect, we all have our own weaknesses. It just takes strength to dig down and admit what those weaknesses actually are. Once you can do this, you will realize that your weaknesses will actually make you a stronger and better individual. That is why admitting your weaknesses is so important.

Michael Bonnell

6/5/2018

 

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