Freaks

This blog is in response to the article "Freak Factor: Discovering Uniqueness by Flaunting Weakness" which can be found at changethis.com. This article explains that every trait has an opposite. Strengths and weaknesses come in pairs, and they cannot be separated. If you are enthusiastic you are obnoxious, and if you are calm you are emotionless. The article explains that there is no way fix your weaknesses , because you then lose your strength. Instead, your weaknesses can be used to direct you away from things you are poor at, and towards things you are good at. For example, if you don't like authority, you might run your own business. I believe all of the article's suggestions are valid, and I will critique three of them below.

1. Flawless: There's Nothing Wrong With You

I find this point to be very valid. Every strength has a weakness. There is no way to "fix" a strength, because you are then creating another weakness. We generally think of weaknesses as things that are problems we need to fix. They are in fact guides to finding your strengths and excelling in those while avoiding your weaknesses as much as possible. The article gives the example of addiction as a weakness. Instead of being addicted to a drug, you could become addicted to something enjoyable, like reading or exercise. I believe there are also ways to turn our weaknesses into useful mechanisms, as this example proves.

2. Focus: You Can't Do Both

This is also a valid point in the article. When you chose one strength, you are rejecting all other strengths and accepting a weakness. If you then choose another strength, the same endless pattern will continue on. If you spent time trying to have multiple strengths and work around multiple weaknesses, you would be losing time and energy that could be spent focusing on one specific strength. This also limits the total progress you will make with your strengths because you will be spending the same amount of time working on double the amount of skills. Doing both will prevent you from becoming exceptional in any specific skill.

3. What's My Problem?

This last point discusses the way most of us view our weaknesses; we view them as problems. The article explains here that the many kinds of weaknesses aren't problems in need of fixing. They are instead clues to what your real strengths are. If you aren't a team player, you are good at working in isolated conditions. Finding your biggest weaknesses can lead you to finding your greatest strengths.

Your weaknesses make you different from everyone else. When you match your unique characteristics to situations that reward those qualities, you will become successful. I believe I have the weaknesses of being stubborn and impatient when I create my media. This leads me to my greatest strengths, which are dedication and passion.