Your Strengths Can Be a Double-Edged Sword

Ever have those nights where you just don’t feel like getting much work done? I guess tonight’s one of those nights for me…I’ll write this post out and see where I go from here.

I’ve noticed that people’s greatest strengths can be their greatest weaknesses – a double-edged sword. At this point, I’m unsure how to address the weak portion without compromising the best parts of those traits. No one’s perfect, so I guess the best you can do is work to improve the weaker aspects. This is strangely reminding me of Fight Club.

Anyway, I’ll share what I think are two of my greatest strengths to illustrate what I mean about those becoming greatest weaknesses as well.

Strength #1 – I’m very cool under pressure. Actually, I tend to be in my element when things are going wrong around me and others are freaking out. I have the ability to objectively assess the situation, come up with the best ways to address the problem, and take action.

On the other hand, the “coolness” of my personality has definitely led others to think that I don’t care or that I’m not passionate, when in fact I am. Being outwardly demonstrative of my emotions doesn’t come naturally to me, and this has hurt me on different occasions.

Strength #2 – I consider myself a very independent person. I generally do very well on my own – I have an idea of what I want to do, and I follow through without having to ask others to point the way. I’m confident in my own abilities, and I take pride in being competent.

Yet this independence leads to a problem area – I don’t like asking for help, even when I really do need it. I suppose it’s pride, maybe a little bit of stubbornness. But it’ll take a lot for me to finally ask for help, and by the time I do, it’s a bit too late. In these instances, I definitely could have done much better getting help earlier.

Hold on, I think I came to a realization while writing this. If you’ve seen the ending of Fight Club (which I won’t spoil for those of you who haven’t), you’ll probably see a connection. I think it’s actually quite possible to work on those weak areas without having to compromise the strong areas. They can be separated. You won’t lose that entire trait. [Side note - I don't know how well this analogy matches up, but hopefully you get the point.]

Sure, it’ll take time and a lot of work. And there’s no guarantee that the weaknesses will go away completely, but it’s possible. Maybe it would benefit me to be more demonstrative of my emotions. Maybe I should forget about pride and ask for help as soon as I realize that I need it.

That’s life, right? Learning, growing, and becoming a better person.

The first rule at randomtidbitsofthought.wordpress.com.

Glen’s Spring Break 2012 Recap

Can’t believe spring break is over! Went by too fast. The good thing was that break this year was nice and enjoyable, as breaks usually are. The bad thing was that I got sick near the start of break, so I spent most of break sick and (partially) bedridden.

Let’s start from the beginning.

After a weekend spent with family and friends from church, I was ready to start my week that Monday with a nice basketball session with some high school buddies at the youth center gym. After one game, I started feeling a bit queasy, so I sat out for the rest of the session and enjoyed a nice all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ lunch afterward. $10!

The next day, I woke up feeling really, really sick. Turns out I had the flu. Congestion, sinus inflammation, sore throat, shivers. I spent most of the day in bed, trying to sleep but finding it hard to. The next couple of days were spent getting some much-needed rest.

And rest I did. I think for most of break, I had at least 8 hours of sleep every night, plus 2-3 hour naps in the afternoon. I definitely felt well-rested!

Another positive thing from getting sick was that I got to watch a bunch of good movies at home. I watched the Goodfellas, Carrie, and Kill Bill Volumes 1 & 2. Mini-review time!

The Goodfellas is a classic mob film directed by Scorsese and ranks up there with The Godfather as far as mob films go. Carrie is a classic Stephen King horror film about an outcast high school girl with telekinetic powers. A good depiction of common adolescent themes mixed with good-old horror. As for Kill Bill? I don’t need to say much, except that I have new-found appreciation and admiration for Tarantino with each subsequent viewing of his films.

Apart from movies, I also caught up on some TV shows, mostly SNL, South Park, the Simpsons, and the Colbert Report.

Oh, and food and friends, of course. I love breaks because it’s a good opportunity to (slightly) splurge, try new restaurants, and revisit favorites. I have some pretty good reviews coming up on my food blog – stay tuned!

On Friday, I went to Universal Studios with Patrick and Kevin. It was my second visit since the new year, because I have the five-entry special ticket from Costco. Had lots of fun on rides such as Revenge of the Mummy, Jurassic Park, and the Simpsons Ride. The Studio Tour was great as usual, and this time, we got the best seats on the tram to enjoy the various sets and mini-shows. We also watched a couple of classic shows including Water World and the Blues Brothers. All in all, a really fun day!

Saturday was spent with family. For lunch, I enjoyed baked goodies at 85 Degree Bakery and boba from Half & Half. Originally, we had planned to drive to Santa Monica, but the weather wasn’t too great, so we decided to stop by Ontario Mills mall to watch a movie and shop. My brother and I watched The Lorax, which I thought was a well-made and funny film with a very important core message of environmentalism.

After a six-hour drive with a stop at In N Out, James, Kevin, Kim, and I finally returned to Berkeley Sunday evening, marking the end of a great break!

Summer time soon at randomtidbitsofthought.wordpress.com.