In Think Like a Monk, Jay Shetty offers the following insight, “Our society is set up on strengthening our weaknesses rather than building our strengths. In school, if you make 4 A’s and a D, everyone focuses on the D. We put so much effort into strengthening our weaknesses. Wouldn’t we be better served to place more of our focus on growing what we are good at rather than becoming mediocre at the thing we are really bad at? Cultivate your genius friends, that’s where your true talent lies. That is where your impact is. Stop trying to be decent at everything and focus on being really great at one thing.”
I am terrible at math. So, so bad. I have spent a lot of energy in my life trying to improve that and you know what, I’m still bad at it. I am so thankful for calculators and smart friends. I let them be geniuses at math, I lean on them for help, and I stay in my lane. The truth is, I don’t need to be really good at math, that’s for someone else. I need to encourage the genius in everyone. Stop focusing so much on the areas you aren’t good at and spend time cultivating your strengths.
Our self improvement efforts often focus on our weaknesses as well. We want to become better at what we think we are so bad at. We need to realize that we can’t do everything and we aren’t good at everything. And you know what? We really shouldn’t be. Have you ever seen someone truly gifted in an area do their thing, its unbelievable. Can you imagine a world where we are all operating at that level?
Why not, instead of thinking about our shortcomings as our weaknesses, we think about them as someone else’s strength. Rather than putting so much energy in becoming better at something you will never be all that great at, put that energy into truly cultivating your area of genius. The time is much better served there.
Today, encourage others in their areas of strength. Don’t compare yourself to them and wish you were like them, the world needs you and what you are uniquely gifted in. Accept your weaknesses and grow your genius.
