I am imperfect

I’m weak.

The most powerful thing one can do is admitting one’s own faults.

I am weak, I'm afraid, I'm lazy, I'm bad. These are some of the things you'll rarely hear anyone say about themselves. We are all taught from early childhood to be strong, and never admit our weaknesses. But we all have them. Some of us base their decisions on fear. Some of us are greedy or lazy. Many of us steal and almost all of us lie regularly (according to research).

However, there are few things in life that are as powerful as admitting one's faults and weaknesses. When you share a weakness or vulnerability with someone else, you let them into your inner sanctum, which is one of the best and fastest ways to build trust. This builds trust because when you give someone something they can use against you, you are showing them you trust them, and most people will reciprocate the trust. Also, our secrets are our weak spot, because most of us fear these being exposed. But if we intentionally expose them, we take away their power. When everyone knows your secrets, they can't threaten or hurt you with exposing them. Instead of working to keep them a secret, and being afraid of being exposed, we can build trust and enjoy the strengths of having less (or no) fear.

Another aspect of this is that by being open and transparent about our less-savory part, we show others that we are just like them. Take me, for example: I’m somewhat successful and popular, but by admitting my faults, it shows people I’m not some arrogant prick hiding in the ivory tower. I have some stuff going for me, but I’m ultimately just like everyone else. A regular guy who cried in movies, eats too much crap, sometimes forget important stuff, and occasionally makes a mistake that hurts others. I try to be the best I can be, but I’m ultimately a flawed human being, just like all of us. I am not proud of my faults, and I’m even ashamed of some of them, but the values of transparency and personal-responsibility trump that. Hopefully, more people will learn to appreciate those values too, and make the world a better place for all of us.