I'm going to fess up. I fully intended to post another question today.  But yesterday my day did not end the way I thought it would, and I'm a bit numb. It's interesting to me that when my world is rocked by the unexpected, I find it easier to think about my faults and what I don't do well, than it is to think about what I am good at. Hmmm, there must be some deep psychological meaning in that somewhere.Question of the Week #6: What are your greatest faults?

So here is what I consider my faults (listed in no particular order):

1. I have high expectations.

2. I am impatient.

3. I am opinionated.

4. I stink at math ---and yes I could work at learning it-- but why?

5. I am critical.

6. I am quickly frustrated when people don't listen to me.

7. I am judgmental.

8. I cannot "school" my face into anything but what I am feeling at the moment.

9. I like to be in control.

10. I worry too much.

Those are just the things that came to mind quickly. And although I consider them my faults, even I recognize that all things on my list are not  completely undesirable traits. Especially if they are held in check. Being opinionated isn't necessarily bad, but not knowing when to keep that opinion to myself, is. Impatience on its own isn't awful, but being impatient at other people's mistakes is unfair. Even being critical in certain cases is okay, especially if it is part of your job to check quality or to evaluate performance, and not used to cast judgment on someone else.

What's pretty cool is that with some effort our greatest faults can be turned into something we can use to our advantage. Becoming aware of our own limitations is the first step in this process.  Making sure we know how others see us, is the next. How we see our own faults/weaknesses is not always how others see us, we may be far more critical of ourselves than others are.

So, think about it. Make your list. Then take it a step further and ask others close to you what they think your faults are. Do they match up? If so, decide if there are habits or traits you need to change, or if truly understanding and accepting yourself is all that is needed.

(Be ready for the inevitable flip side of this question, what are your greatest strengths-- a much harder question for me to answer).

P.S. Have a fantastic weekend. Enjoy the snow....