More than a Mirror

A few days ago, I called my mom to ask her what my strengths and weaknesses are -I was filling out an application.

I really didn’t think that she would give me any information that I didn’t already know; after all, we were talking about me. I was wrong.

First, she stared telling me all of the things that I do wrong. Unlike most mothers, mine does not have a skewed vision of her child.  She had no problem spewing off my flaws.

I practically had to yell into the phone to get her to stop. When she did, I told her that I needed the weakness to sound like strengths in disguise since they are for an application.

Then she started on a new tangent, she still listed my flaws, but this time she told me more about them and how they make up who I am.

Flaw:

1. Fear of imperfection

Apparently when I was in kindergarten my teacher told my mom that I really struggled when we started new projects. The teacher said that I was just afraid to start because I didn’t know whether or not I would be good at the project.

I had forgotten this story, but the “I don’t want to fail” quality has stuck with me. I still hate doing something if I know I won’t be the best. However, I realize now that I have to try things that I’m not good at or else I will never learn how to be the best at them.

My mom listed other examples as well, but my flaws are not the point of this post.

The point is…you may think you know yourself pretty well, but in actuality sometimes you need more than a mirror. It is amazing how someone else can know more about you than you know about yourself.