Embracing and Overcoming Personal Weakness

Kassadee Apgood

Wilmington University

AHS 8100

December 4, 2023
 Embracing and Overcoming Personal Weaknesses in the Helping Profession

In the work of helping professions, where individuals dedicate themselves to supporting

others, acknowledging and addressing personal weaknesses is crucial for both personal and

professional growth. In this paper I will explore strategies to effectively deal with personal

weaknesses, fostering a more resilient and empathetic helping professional.

I first started by reflecting on my strengths and weaknesses, realizing what was helpful

and what wasn’t as helpful for me and as well as for working in a helping profession. I wanted to

make sure that I was aware of myself and what I needed to work on. Some of the strengths that I

noticed were being detail-oriented, empathetic, a good problem solver, and dedicated. Some of

the weaknesses that I noticed were insecure, self-critical, and sensitive.

After looking at the list that I came up with, I realized that there are some steps I could

take to work on improving my weaknesses. I also was able to embrace being vulnerable for

myself so that I could work on making these changes. I knew it was important for me to use

these weaknesses as a positive, and have empathy and understanding for myself.

Some things that I can do to work on these weaknesses are to continue my knowledge

and learning every day and work on my professional development in my career. I knew one way

that would help with my weaknesses was to focus on improving my boundaries and self-care. I

will work on making clear professional boundaries of expectations and my needs to prevent any

burnout and compassion fatigue. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to work on improving my

weaknesses without taking care of myself having a healthy work-life balance, rest, and engaging

in activities outside of school and work.

Transforming weaknesses into strengths is a dynamic process that involves a shift in

perspective. Instead of looking at weaknesses as an obstacle that we face, we must identify

strategies to turn them into strengths. When we recognize weaknesses as an opportunity for

growth and learning, we can create resilience in our roles as helping professionals. This will not

only increase our personal development but can also help us to have a more effective and

empathetic engagement with individuals who are seeking assistance.

When working on improving our weaknesses, it is important to have a regular self-

assessment to see our progress. When participating in self-reflection, it helps us to track our

development, identify areas that we need to improve, and set realistic goals for ourselves. By

consistently evaluating and adjusting our strategies, we can ensure that we are on the path of

improvement and contributing to our effectiveness as a helping professional.

In conclusion, the process of embracing and overcoming our weaknesses is an essential

part of both personal and professional development. Through self-reflection, I have identified my

strengths and weaknesses. The strategies that have been discussed help to reframe weaknesses as

an opportunity to have positive change. When working in the field of the helping profession, it is

important to acknowledge and address personal weaknesses to work towards being more

resilient, having more empathy, and having the opportunity for growth.
 References

Grammarly. (2021, January 14).