U - Understand and Accept your Own Strengths and Weaknesses

U - Understand and Accept your Own Strengths and Weaknesses

We've briefly been through steps Y (yield your heart and will to God) and O (opportunities to serve/brighten someone's day) on our journey toward joy.  Next is the U which stands for understanding and accepting your own strengths and weaknesses.  When I was first putting this together I just had understanding them, but I decided to add the word accepting because we forget that part sometimes.  We can't build on the good until we know exactly what we're dealing with.

In my previous "Y" post I explained about my experience with my friend helping me see who I am in God's eyes.  Well, here's the rest of that story.

A couple days after that walk, my family went to a camp up in the mountains with a group of dear friends.  During the few days we had there we went to a class that focused on the book "The Color Code" by Taylor Hartman.  They had us do a personality test to figure out what color we are.  The colors tell you what motivates you: red is motivated by power - they like to be in control, blue is motivated by intimacy - they like strong relationships, white is motivated by peace - they avoid conflict at all costs, and yellow is motivated by fun - they love life and just want to have fun.

Anyway, the timing of that class couldn't have been any better!!  I took the test and found that I am almost completely white.  It explained SO much!!  As the teacher went through the strengths and weaknesses of the white personality it described me to a tee.  In fact, some of the words he used were the exact words my friend had used just a few days before.  It was a confirmation to me that what my friend had said was true.  I was so excited to continue learning about ME.  The miracle with this experience was, I didn't get discouraged reading about my weaknesses.  I could accept them because right along with them were a bunch of strengths.  The thing the teacher said that made the biggest difference for me was that ALL the colors are good.  There isn't one that is better than another.  For the first time in my life I believed that. I saw and truly accepted that I had something to offer.

Between the walk and that class I had just experienced a complete turning point in my life.  At the time I didn't realize how important it was, but now, ten years later I can see what a huge impact that had on me.

There are many different kinds of personality tests and I've taken most of them just to try to understand myself better.  It doesn't matter how you figure out your strengths and weaknesses, but I believe that it's important that you do somehow.  Everyone is born with gifts and with challenges.  Unfortunately, I think sometimes we compare ourselves to others and want to be the best of everyone around us, but we see in ourselves only our weaknesses.  It's much easier to serve when you understand what it is you have to give.  We can't truly love our neighbor until we love ourself.

Your joy will increase as your love for yourself grows!!