From an early age, it’s been perceived that admitting to weakness only serves to make you weaker – more vulnerable. Playing sports will do that to your mindset. A skill you can’t do? Hide it by increasing your ability to do something else even better. An injury? Find a way to mask it, claim it’s something else inhibiting your play. But what is the end result of this? Well, the weakness remains as a weakness.

But what about in real life? Weaknesses appear in every aspect of life. I like the idea that we learn more from failure than we do from success; but let’s be clear, everyone wants to be successful regardless of how that success is measured. Nobody wants to be seen as unable to complete a task, either at work or around the house. We want to learn yes, but we also have to admit at first to needing to learn. YouTube has made it nice and easy for us all to pretend that we’re more than capable of hanging that shelf…

However, an inability to admit to a weakness cost an opportunity this week. It’s an opportunity that will repeat itself, but it was also an action which could have led to no further similar opportunities being presented. The reason for this was because admitting to a weakness is hard. We all want to be perceived in some specific manner and identifying to others that there may be more going on behind the scenes than we outwardly demonstrate can be tough.

So I took a chance. Putting faith and trust into that significant other, the weakness was admitted to. It was explained, discussed and rationalised. It was explored and linked to the current, rather than solely being focused on the past. See, we want things from people without explaining how that can be achieved. We don’t want to be hurt, but we don’t let others know what it is that they should avoid doing to prevent hurting us. Ironically, by showing weakness, things have become stronger. A developed bond has been created and going forwards to the same issue shouldn’t be repeated.

Like with the first post, a weight was lifted and things felt clearer and brighter. With the facade lifted, the reality looks promising.