Strengthening my Weaknesses & Practicing my Strengths
Helloooo everyone! I know it has been awhile since I wrote a blog post, but I took a much needed break from all types of work. It is so important to listen to your body, mind, and soul and relax when needed. This is a lesson I am still very much learning, but we will delve into this further as the blog post continues. I want to share with you all how I have used this off time to work on my weaknesses as well as use my strengths to my advantage. In all aspects of your life you will need to know your strengths and weaknesses. You will be able to know what jobs will use your strengths or what activities will help to turn your weaknesses into strengths.
As many of you know, I was in the British Virgin Islands at a sailing and scuba diving camp for three weeks. It was so refreshing to be with new people, in a new setting, and without my phone. For these three weeks I lived on a 50 foot sailboat with 14 other people. This gave me the perfect opportunity to further explore and work on myself.
I have always had a hard time with relaxing and taking time to refill my bucket. I know that taking time off is just as important as working hard because you can only work for so long before you burn out. However, this is easier said than done for me.
On this trip, I was forced to put down my 100 lb ACT book, stop working out, and just be. I let the suns rays penetrate through my skin and replenish my body and spirit. The yellowy-orange rays fell upon me, immediately coaxing me to let go of any stress. This was probably the first time in my life I had fully and completely unwound for three whole weeks. I was myself. The most relaxed and happy version of myself. This vacation showed me what true R&R feels like and how it affects me. I now know that I need to give myself time off because it allows me think more clearly and have an overall more balanced lifestyle. If I am constantly consumed by work I won’t be able to function at my best. Knowing this information, I am prepared to go into school with a more well-rounded mindset. I am going to listen to my body and mind to determine when I need to take time off. I am working on coming up with a plan to ensure that I incorporate more off time into my daily and weekly routine. I encourage you all to do the same. Find one of your weaknesses that you want to work on and make a plan to strengthen it. It certainly will not strengthen itself so you have to put the work in. For example, in order for me to allow myself time to relax, I have to practice calming down and letting go of the constant need to be working on something. If your weakness is that you relax a little too much, try to incorporate more into your day. Instead of having no plans for the day or laying on your bed all day, relax for part of the day and do an activity in the other half.
My next weakness can be seen as a strength at times. I like to plan out everything and be in control of my day. This can be positive when it has to do with my tight schedule because when I plan everything out, I can fit more activities into my day. On the other hand, this can turn into a struggle when the plan is out of my control. At camp, I didn’t have any say over what we were doing from minute to minute and I had to go with the flow. I don’t mind going with the flow sometimes, but other times I just want to know what’s happening and when. Through this camp, I tried to let go of the want for control and just allow the situation to be out of my hands. I learned that I need to practice this skill more in my daily life because I can’t constantly be in control. Everyday I had to exercise this skill and it was so good for me to practice.
I wanted to show you all that it is important to work on your weaknesses because this act of working on yourself builds you up. You can strengthen your weaknesses in the most unexpected times.
Lastly, this time gave me the opportunity to practice my strengths. As some of you may know, throughout quarantine I have worked on my confidence. During this time I have grown myself into the person I am ecstatic to be. My confidence has skyrocketed and I feel ready to take on the world. Although this is true, for most of the Covid year I have been in my house, only seeing a few people. With this, I wasn’t sure if my confidence would stick with me as I branched out to meet new people and go through a new camp. Luckily, it did! I felt amazing and happy. My confidence was certainly tested as I went through different personal battles, but nonetheless I persisted.
I hope you all will think of some of your strengths and weaknesses and work on them as you go through your days.