How we define strength varies from person to person. Some people measure it by how much weight an individual can push or pull on a barbell and others place more value on emotional fortitude and the ability to withstand life’s stresses without breaking down or falling apart. No one is wrong about their opinions, strength isn’t black and white, it’s a matter of perception – where one places certain critical values. There are one-hundred pound girls that can be stronger, tougher, and more emotionally resilient than a 225 pound man. The definition of strength might be different for each and every person but one thing holds true for all of them. Strength…is where a person conquers weakness.

When it comes to conquering our weaknesses we tend to take the wrong approach and focus too much on what makes us weak. When we dwell on our weaknesses they create a black cloud that hovers above us and rains feelings of self doubt that only weigh us down. Eventually all our doubts and concerns become self-fulfilling prophecies on our reality and thence weaknesses and insecurities will end up taking over and beating us.

While we’re trying to fix what’s “wrong” with us we tend to forget about all of our strengths and the things that make us who we are. Everyone has weaknesses and battles them differently but in the same light everyone has strengths and how they embrace those strengths is also exclusive to one’s self.

Everyone eventually falls victim to their weaknesses and gets burned in some way or another but it is our strengths that allow us to rise from the ashes, like newborn Phoenixes with breathes of new life burning within us. Our strengths are the fire that fuels us and cause us to awaken to our true potential and turn any of our dreams into a tangible reality.

Perseverance and persistence are excellent traits to have but what if you are persisting on your weakness and continuing to engage with whatever it is that may be “hurting” you? You’ll hear people tell you to “hold on” or to “keep at it” and it will “eventually get better.” It is almost as if some people believe that a willingness and ability to hold on to something directly correlates with it’s likelihood of improvement. If a stock you hold a position in is tanking, what is your best bet? To hold onto it and cross your fingers, hoping that it bounces back? Or to get the fuck out of there and settle with your losses before it manifests into something you can’t possibly recover from? “Pain [might be] weakness leaving the body”, but it’s not all forms of pain that build character and strength. Holding onto something that hurts you does not necessarily make you stronger, sometimes it just desensitizes you and even though it’s still hurting you, you just don’t “feel it” so you assume it’s okay. You either stop caring, or stop hurting, or stop crying, but it’s still there, holding you back from bigger and better things.

Anything and anyone can bring you down. It can be an unfulfilling job where you hopelessly wait for a big raise, bonus, or promotion. It can be a relationship that puts more emotional stress on you than it does happiness and you’re just holding onto what is was in the past and not what it is presently. It can be your tendency to beat yourself up over all the things that are “wrong” with you. It can even be the fact that you ignore your own needs in an effort to please others. It can be any external force or it can be self inflicted.

In the battle against weaknesses it is sometimes just best to let go of them and pretend that they do not exist so you may focus on what is more important…your strengths. Whether you’re curling five pound dumbbells or holding the weight of the world on your shoulders, you are stronger than you can ever imagine and if you constantly dwell on your weaknesses you will only make them worse. If you’re ever feeling weak or hurt, don’t panic, just get a a grip of yourself and realize that as much a virtue persistence can be, it can require more strength to let go of something than it does to hold on to it.

How we define strength varies from person to person. Some people measure it by how much weight an individual can push or pull on a barbell and others place more value on emotional fortitude and the ability to withstand life’s stresses without breaking down or falling apart. No one is wrong about their opinions, strength isn’t black and white, it’s a matter of perception – where one places certain critical values. There are one-hundred pound girls that can be stronger, tougher, and more emotionally resilient than a 225 pound man. The definition of strength might be different for each and every person but one thing holds true for all of them. Strength…is where a person conquers weakness.

When it comes to conquering our weaknesses we tend to take the wrong approach and focus too much on what makes us weak. When we perseverate on our weaknesses they create a black cloud that hovers above us and rains feelings of self doubt that only weigh us down. Eventually all your doubts and concerns become self-fulfilling prophecies on your reality and your weaknesses and insecurities will end up taking over and beating you.

While we’re trying to fix what’s “wrong” with us we tend to forget about all of our strengths and the things that make us who we are. Everyone has weaknesses and battles them differently but in the same light everyone has strengths and how they embrace those strengths is also exclusive to one’s self.

Everyone eventually falls victim to their weaknesses and gets burned in some way or another but it is our strengths that allow us to rise from the ashes, like newborn Phoenixes with breathes of new life burning within us. Our strengths are the fire that fuels us and cause us to awaken to our true potential and turn any of our dreams into a tangible reality.

Perseverance and persistence are excellent traits to have but what if you are persisting on your weakness and continuing to engage with whatever it is that may be “hurting” you? You’ll hear people tell you to “hold on” or to “keep at it” and it will “eventually get better.” It is almost as if some people believe that your willingness and ability to hold on to something directly correlates with it’s likelihood of improvement. If a stock you hold a position in is tanking, what is your best bet? To hold onto it and cross your fingers, hoping that it bounces back? Or to get the fuck out of there and settle with your losses before it manifests into something you can’t possibly recover from? “Pain [can be] weakness leaving the body”, but it’s not all forms of pain that build character and strength. Holding onto something that hurts you does not necessarily make you stronger, sometimes it just desensitizes you and even though it’s still hurting you, you just don’t “feel it” so you assume it’s okay. You either stop caring, or stop hurting, or stop crying, but it’s still there, holding you back from bigger and better things.

Anything and anyone can bring you down. It can be an unfulfilling job where you hopelessly wait for a big raise, bonus, or promotion. It can be a relationship that puts more emotional stress on you than it does happiness and you’re just holding onto what is was in the past and not what it is presently. It can be your tendency to beat yourself up over all the things that are “wrong” with you. It can even be the fact that you ignore your own needs in an effort to please others. It can be any external force or it can be self inflicted.

In the battle against weaknesses it is sometimes just best to let go of them and pretend that they do not exist so you may focus on what is more important…your strengths. Whether you’re curling five pound dumbbells or holding the weight of the world on your shoulders, you are stronger than you can ever imagine and if you constantly hover over your weaknesses you will only make them worse. If you’re ever feeling weak or hurt, don’t panic, just get a a grip of yourself and realize that as much a virtue persistence can be, it can require more strength to let go of something than it does to hold on to it.