Strengths and Weaknesses Dam

This week we focused a lot on our personalities and how we can become more effective leaders by analyzing our strengths and weaknesses. One question that came up was "What should we focus on and improve... our strengths or our weaknesses?" After lots of frustration in our class on what we need to work on, I came up with a great metaphor to better answer this question.

Think of life as a dam. Not just any dam, but one made of rocks and sticks and mud. We don't have an unlimited supply of resources, only the materials given to us or that can be found in the surrounding area. The dam represents our personality... it has strong spots and it has weak spots, but regardless of how good it is, a dam is a dam. The water in this case represents certain challenges or scenarios. Like life, times change and different obstacles come our way. Spring, for example, has stronger currents from melting snow. This could represent a difficult period of our lives. Often this spring can be related to our young adult life where many different paths face us and we have many choices to make. Here we must strengthen our weak spots in order to protect ourselves from being washed away. The seasons change and so do our challenges. Fall for example has slow currents and is a perfect time to fortify our strong spots to prepare for the future.

The most important thing that we should realize is that we must have moderation in all things. Focusing on the extremes is rarely effective in the long run. As we observe ourselves we must always be aware of our pros and cons in order to progress. Not only should we learn from ourselves, but from others as well. Learn from mistakes from history, learn from the successes of our ancestors, learn what works and what doesn't so you don't have to get in difficult positions that have happened before.