We All Have Permission to be Stronger than What People Think.

Some people have the ability to hide behind their strengths.

Whether it is their physical disposition or manners of speech, people rarely risk finding out what happens when these individuals are pushed to their limits.

Then, there are those of us whose strengths are tucked away behind our weaknesses.

Be it our size, demeanour or any of the other visual cues that people generalize into halfhearted first impressions, life demonstrates that will consistently fail to measure up.

We find ourselves tested, challenged, and very frequently mishandled as a byproduct of these first misplaced impressions.

How small is the lens with which you view the world around you?

All to say, in response to the pressure and resistance that aims to break us… we can even surprise ourselves when we recognize that it is when we've reached our breaking point that our strengths begin to shine.

Those of us who choose not to reflect the hardships we’ve survived, whose strengths serve to hide the horrors we’ve lived through.

There is something unspoken about being unexpected. Finding yourself slipping through the cracks of people’s expectations and being more than what they bargained for. It is merit hard won and hard fought for. There is an amusement in being underestimated, not insulting or injurious, not after a while… because what we know that time will show, the strengths and qualities that stubbornly hide in plain sight.

I misjudged you.

Words I am more familiar with than most. Along with the look that comes with the bitter realization that those misplaced judgments caused one to show their hand to quickly or remove their masks too soon.

We all carry a duality.

Each of us a mix of weaknesses and strengths, though most of us are able to leverage our strengths as a shield to protect the most vulnerable and fragile parts of ourselves. For some of us, myself included... it is our weaknesses, perceived or otherwise, that serve to hide the strongest and most capable parts of who we are. 

We are strong even in our vulnerabilities

We carry qualities that are the most unanticipated of Trojan horses… it is the gift that comes with being more than what people expected.

Let them think what they want. 

Act as they feel so inclined.

Let them reveal themselves, their intentions, and their motivations as time works in your favour and begins to reveal those parts of you that went unnoticed and overlooked.

Allow those who misjudged you to find themselves caught off guard.

There’s this analogy about strength. How the tree that has battled through the most winds has deeper roots and the strongest of foundations. In being unexpected, undervalued, and underestimated the winds of life will enable you to ground yourself in a firm foundation of who you are, beyond the shallow impressions that people’s biases and preconceived notions may make of you. Without seeking to prove them wrong, just showing up as yourself is enough for them to reconsider those misplaced perceptions.

I am weak in all the ways that attract unwanted attention, challenges, difficulties, and moments I would have much preferred never experiencing.

I am strong in ways that I have risen above all that has attempted to bury me, and would like to offer the encouragement to someone who needs a reminder that they are, and can always choose to be this strong, too.

We are more than the labels, words, and boxes that people place us in. More than the quick heuristics and rapid judgments that fail to capture so much of who we are and our becoming.

Eventually, those who came to test you will realize they misstepped by overstepping, that your boundaries were always just as valid as anyone else’s. On their own they will come to the realization their small-mindedness only impacted their view of the world and bore no influence to your placement in it… and in that moment, hopefully, will they begin to acknowledge their own weaknesses.

They may give themselves enough clarity to recognize that much of what we think about others be it as a result of difference, demeanour, or disposition… is often a projection of the unhealed parts of ourselves.

So, I hope acknowledging those judgements heal you and attract then life lessons that will ultimately serve you... assuming you choose humility, to grow, and to acknowledge that people are always more than the weaknesses you've characterized them as having.

People will surprise you, so learn to expect the unexpected in everyone you meet.

#Individuality #Identity #Growing #UnapologeticallyMe