Your Greatest Strength is your Biggest Weakness

It is said 'Philosophy' is the only thing that differentiates between Humans and Animals though I am not sure. Probably complex animals also got philosophy, anyone who has an idea of time, that is past present and future thinks philosophy. Some do consciously and others unconsciously. When I started talking to myself in my own head in a structured way the one discussion I had with myself and what I figured that day which was probably 20 years back still holds water after so many years..

Back in College days, we were supposed to fill out forms where we needed to fill out our strengths and weaknesses. As we constructed our false strengths and weaknesses with the focus on impressing the interviewer. I started thinking what is a weakness and a strength?

The more I thought the more I was convinced that there is nothing called strength or weakness, but there are characteristics of a human which are perceived or twisted to be strength or weakness and the dominant characteristic is twisted in a way to be thought as a strength and the same dominant characteristic becomes the weakness when seen in a different situation. Now this entire strength and weakness became a joke for me, this has stood over time and there has never been any confusion in my head about this. I see the entire world always dividing a human / team / country / culture into strength and weakness but it is the same characteristic they are talking about as a strength and weakness!

Let me give you an example - Attention to detail is a strength then probably not able to see the bigger picture is the weakness - but it roots from the same characteristic. You can take a sport and check strength and weakness of any player or team and you will see it. In cricket - Sehwag's carefree uncluttered approach to batting is a strength is his greatest strength and biggest weakness. Take NBA - Spurs is a methodical well oiled machine that's the strength and weakness. As a religion - hinduism is not structured and defined - thats the strength and the weakness.

My point is - whenever you struggle with a situation - think what makes you so bad? And then realize that due to that trait you may be better off in other situations.