I’m quitting my weaknesses.

Working on my weaknesses takes so much more effort than working on enhancing my strengths. I’ve been questioning why I’ve spent so much energy trying to improve my weaknesses. I’m holding space to acknowledge ‘what I’m not good at’ or ‘what I’m not interested in,’ to challenge the thinking that I need to purposefully put energy into something that is not meant for me.

A little backstory. I grew up believing the idea to “power through,” “to persevere,” “to do all the things,” and to ignore the signals, the flags, the feelings that something wasn’t truly for me to pursue.

The reality is sometimes things aren't going to work. Like legitimately, time to give up, time to say, yeah, okay, yeah, I've tried five or six things, and this is not for me because the level of effort for what I’m pursuing isn’t worth it for me. BUT to break the voices in my head from years of repetition is tough.

Let me provide an example that highlights why working on a weakness isn’t fruitful for me.

Learning and enjoying the leisurely activity of skiing. Over about twenty-five years I’ve tried skiing and snowboarding maybe a dozen times. I know, I can’t get better without practice. But here’s the thing, when I really look at skiing, I dislike it. I’m wildly uncomfortable and it’s hard to accomplish the simplest of things on the slope. I spend a mountain of money to have someone teach me the basics each time we go, which I completely understand and can apply to a degree, but I don’t enjoy skiing. I love a good ski trip with my family and friends, but I’d much prefer to spend my time as the lodge-mom with money for snacks and saved seats to rest a bit.

Sometimes things don't work. Skiing is a weakness of mine. One that takes far too much effort to make meaningful changes. Am I missing out on something? I don't know, maybe. But I'm also good at being a different part of the story because there are a lot of ways to find joy in skiing that doesn’t include the slopes.  

I'm quitting my weaknesses. I’ll give an amount of effort to validate my feelings but sometimes it's okay to say I am done. It's not for me. I’m not a loser or incapable. I’m tired of defending what’s not for me because of something I once believed. That belief is no longer serving me. I’m not sure it ever was. I have a limited amount of time to LIVE — an unknown amount of time — and I’m going to go all-in on my strengths and let the good times roll.