Freak Factor

http://changethis.com/manifesto/show/45.02.FreakFactor

Above is a link to David Rendall's "Freak Factor".  It's an article arguing that our weaknesses, rather than being "fixed", should be embraced and seen as a natural compliment to our strengths.  David makes several good points in the article, and I'd like to go into more detail with three of them.

2. What's My Problem?


Here, Mr. Rendall lists several of his own perceived weaknesses.  It's a long list, and it serves to set up the next section, where he describes how he became successful in spite of his weaknesses.  The key, according to him, isn't to overcome weakness, but to discover that his apparent flaws were simply clues to his strengths.  For example, his profession as a professor allows him to harness his hyperactivity and his need for attention, both of which are his main "weaknesses".  I agree that trying too hard to "fix" weakness can be unfulfilling and, more often than not, boring.  There's a reason it's our weakness.  We're naturally inclined to avoid it.

I think I often focus too much on fixing things that don't really need to be fixed.  For example, I've often tried through brute force repetition to learn the art of drawing realistically.  I just can't.  I've tried, and I've made progress, but I've never really enjoyed doing it.  I think perhaps I like the idea of being able to draw well more that the skill itself.  What I do enjoy drawing are abstract figures, characters with more style than realism.  It's a way to avoid realism, and I enjoy it more too.

4. Forget it.  Don't Try to Fix Your Weakness


Doing things we're weak at is painful.  It stinks.  People who aren't good at math don't like doing math.  So why bother doing them?  There's a perceived need for all of our flaws to be "fixed" but, as David argues, perhaps that isn't the case at all.  He argues trying to fix weaknesses is painful, slow, distracting, and it doesn't work.  There are plenty of opportunities out there that will harness the full power of your strengths while simultaneously avoiding your weaknesses.  We all have limitations, but so what?  It may be easier to collaborate with others whose strengths compliment yours than to try and learn everything yourself.

I think the collaboration point is a very good one.  There are countless people out there who need your skills, and whose skills you need too.  Being able to collaborate and work well with others is an indispensable skill for creative types., and really, it saves you from doing a lot of boring and painful work.  Things you might despise doing may very well be someone else's forte, and vice versa.  Use this to your advantage.

6. Focus:  You Can't do Both


This is, I think, the most important point in the entire article.  Multitasking certainly has a place in the creative process, but you can't and shouldn't try to simultaneously fix your weaknesses and improve your strengths.  It spreads your creative output thin and limits your potential.  Ditch the "fixing weaknesses" part entirely, and just focus on what you do well.  It'll make you happier, increase your output, and give you more to work with.  David uses KMart's demise as an example of a company trying to do both (low prices AND higher quality merchandise) and failing.  Because they weren't the best at anything, KMart lost it's customers and went bankrupt.

Focusing on strengths is something I could do much better.  I think I try too often to improve my areas of relative weakness, when I should be focusing on my strengths.