When a strength is also a weakness

So after a rollercoaster start to the year, it’s now July and I’m taking 5 to reflect. Such is life that sometimes we end up in situations we never could’ve foreseen. What I had planned for myself is absolutely NOT what was planned for me. But I’ve always been pretty good at rolling with it. Like water, one of my main strengths is that I can go with the flow and be disturbed minimally by twists and turns. Which is great. It means I’m an easy-going friend and that when life throws me a lemon I say TEQUILA!

Here I am, 19days away from a 3month trip to Spain with Nacho, a bundle of nerves, excitement and under-prepared flappyness, thinking about what I could’ve done differently. Not because I should have necessarily, but because without reflection, there is no growth.

And if we aren’t growing, we are dying.

And I choose growth.

My realisation is thus. Sometimes our biggest strength can be our greatest weakness. On holiday the girls nicknamed me Flowy (cos I go with the flow and it rhymes with Chloe). What I’ve learnt from my reflection: it just so happens that sometimes being Flowy can put you in compromising positions as you get swept away with the tide. I have always let my heart lead me, and sometimes I let other people lead me, and I often don’t use my head to consider pros and cons, what-ifs and yeah-buts.

I have a book that asks you to make lists of things to reflect upon and the page I turned to the other day was list the people you admire. The first one that sprang to mind was a friend of mine who sometimes has sharp edges and strong viewpoints. She knows what she wants, where she’s prepared to compromise and where she isn’t. She thinks things through and makes calculated decisions. I admire her because of all of that. Because all those qualities are so alien to me, and yet necessary for me to learn in order to evolve and not make the same mistakes again.

I’ve learned that whilst being good at going with the flow, I’m now ready so start building some dams. I need to start learning how to divert the flow, or even stop it as and when necessary so I have more chance at ending up where I want to be. And although nothing is ever really in our control, we have to try! So that when we look back from whichever destination we ultimately find ourselves upon, and lets face it, that’ll probably be the last place our 18-year-old selves thought it would be, we can say I gave it my best shot.

So now it’s your turn: what is your biggest strength and has it ever become your enemy? And who do you most admire and what can you learn from them?

Remember, if we aren’t growing, we’re dying.

With love,

Chloe and Nacho

PS one of my favourite inspirational poems to brighten your Wednesday and fuel your growth!