PeopleImages/Getty Images
How can people go about turning flaws into strengths? originally appeared on Quora - the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world.
Answer by Sarah Knight, New York Times bestselling author of YOU DO YOU, on Quora:
Turning your flaws into strengths is as easy as what I call “mental redecorating.” If you don’t have the time or wherewithal to do a full renovation of your house, you can redecorate and refresh the place with much less effort, right? The same goes for your mental space.
In my new book, You Do You, I describe it as “Feng shui with a side of ‘eff that!’” because the process is similar to one of the tenets of Feng shui, which involves taking existing physical items, like furniture, and moving them around to create a better flow. If you can’t or don’t want to get rid of them, then at least you want your furniture—and your flaws—to work with you, not against you.
This isn’t about fundamentally changing who you ARE; it’s about working with what you’ve got. And it works on both your actual flaws (like, the self-identified ones) and on “flaws” that other people accuse you of but with which you frankly don’t agree.
For example, if someone calls me “selfish” because I turn down a lot of invitations for events I don’t want to spend my time on, I redecorate that to “happy” because that’s what I am as a result of taking control of my time! I didn’t change who I am, but I’m highlighting the positive aspect of a “flaw” so that I can feel good about my life choices and ignore the doubters and haters.
Similarly, if people call you nerdy, I say you’re SMART. If people call you melodramatic, I say you’re ENTHUSIASTIC. And if people call you weird, I say you’re UNIQUE.
Try it. I think you’ll find it really brightens up your mental space!
This question originally appeared on Quora - the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. You can follow Quora on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+. More questions: