I am a chronic people-pleaser. There. I’ve said it. The cats out of the proverbial bag. I love seeing people happy. Buuuut in the past this has resulted in me not always setting the best boundaries in relationships when it was past time for a change.
I used to really judge this part of myself harshly. I mean, all of my self-help books (and trust me, there is a village) told me that living to please others was a psychological minefield just waiting to explode. And they are not all wrong on that front. While I certainly don’t advocate for letting people walk all over you I did discover a beneficial side-effect from this so-called affliction-I had become an encourager. When people need a pick me up or a word of compassion-I’m their girl. All of those years of people-pleasing had allowed me to discover what was most pleasing in the people-and to learn to share it.
In truth I believe there really are really no such things as weaknesses at all. Though the world may tell us that the things that don’t exactly ‘fit’ with what is mainstream are to be ignored or, worse, buried amid a pile of shame, every single part of you has brought a blessing into this world. Every. Single. One. Let that sink in for a moment. Now read that statement again.
Believe it? Still hesitant? Here’s some proof. Isaac Newton utterly failed at running the family farm. Isaac NEWTON for goodness sake. Where would the world be if he had been an amaze-balls farmer? Not feeling the gravitational pull of physics, that’s for sure. Did you know Edison suffered from a loss of hearing beginning at age 12? He credited this physical anomaly with allowing him to avoid distraction and concentrate on his inventions. I can see the light bulb beginning to go on in your head.
The Universe is a complicated, glorious tapestry. What Gary Zukav calls the ‘Earth School’ has so much to teach us about life, love and self-compassion. Sometimes the things that we are learning from are often the ones that also make us unique. What others may call our ‘weaknesses’ are really our greatest teachers. The hidden parts of ourselves that show us where we love the most passionately, leave room for kindness, or just plain have room for a little much needed growth. If we pay close attention, while exercising compassion, to the things that make us feel the most vulnerable-we just might discover our kryptonite is really our golden ticket to enlightenment.
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