by Destiny Goh 

• Imperfections are seen as weakness; many struggles to accept their imperfections and often dismisses them.
• Thinking in perspective through a growth mindset helps you identify your patterns, behaviours and habits that hinder growth.  
• Throughout the refining process, you’d be able to assess problems objectively, compartmentalise and understand underlying causes and issues. 
• Self-development enhances emotional intelligence in self-management, effective communication, active listening and empathy.  
• This article is inspired by members at Good Job Creations.  

Imperfections are often seen as the chink in the armour, an Achilles heel that most people won’t broadcast in the workplace. But imperfections can be powerful when it’s transformed—by embracing them.

But do not confuse your imperfections as your stumbling block, rather, an indicator for improvement. 

You can’t improve what you don’t know. It’s not news that the first step to any improvement, development or solution is to identify the problem, but can we suggest, that is, in fact, the inner conditioning of your mindset.

Truth is, we do see areas in our lives that need work; we have it pointed out to us, get called out for it, and perhaps, it’s written all over the result of our work.

Though it’s true: not everything that needs fixing needs to be fixed, and not every weakness will affect you in any way; working on it takes time and sacrifice.

So, if you allocate all that time to self-development, how can you do it, and what can you potentially learn? 

Here are 3 things you can learn throughout your process of improvement: 

1. Thinking in perspective

Psychiatrist-in-chief at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Adolf Meyer says that human thoughts evolve through neurobiological changes—where the brain can reorganise due to experiences. Other complex interplays such as social and cultural influences, education quality, environment and more.  

Working on your weaknesses requires a deeper understanding of yourself, which can be done through self-reflection and acknowledgement. Of course, some might argue we don’t know what we don’t know, but that’s the beauty of getting constructive feedback from others—they see things differently to offer you a new perspective.  

Getting feedback is a tool for growth, but it’s not the determinant of your thoughts; your mindset is. Consider this: your mind creates, it’s not created. Thinking in perspective, through a growth mindset helps you identify patterns, behaviours or habits that may have been hindering any progress.

Keep a lookout for books that offer you a wealth of perspective; podcasts and TED talks offer insights from experts worldwide on diverse subjects; experience different cultures and diverse ways of living by travelling and cultural immersion; online forums such as Reddit and Quora allow you engage with people from different backgrounds.  

Consultant Rebecca shared that a positive attitude stems from a positive mindset. You’d be surprised how development in one area of your life can potentially affect your actions. 

2. Make problem-solving interesting

This skill is often misunderstood by many; some may think they’re required to solve the problem immediately, that there’s only one correct solution, or that it’s a skill for the ones with the higher IQ.

If you don’t know where to start, we suggest observing how others do it. Don’t just pick anyone to mimic, rather, evaluate the impact of their decisions and actions, ask them about their values and what they believe, learn what inspires them and where they draw knowledge. 

Another method is to incorporate fun to stimulate your brain development. It could be teambuilding activities, a video game or problem-solving platforms on the internet—the options are endless. 

Say you’ve identified your area of weakness, addressing it will involve critical thinking, thorough analysis and evaluation of the overall issue. Such a process enhances your ability to assess problems objectively, compartmentalise them and understand the underlying issues. 

As you tackle them, it encourages you to think outside the box and explore unconventional ways; this, in turn, fosters brain creativity and cognitive fitness that exercises your brain to better reason, generate and experiment. 

3. Enhanced Emotional Intelligence

Working on weaknesses often incurs a series of emotions–frustration, disappointment or insecurity–yet this is also a time when you can practice self-management. For context, if your weakness is presenting during big meetings due to anxiety, you can manage that anxiety through breathing exercises and even reframing negative thoughts.

If you are seeking help, advice and counsel from others, you will need to learn how to communicate your needs effectively—be specific with what you desire to achieve; practice active listening to allow yourself to reflect and retain useful information and foster meaningful relationships that spur you toward growth.

Through this, you’d also be able to empathise with other people’s weaknesses and support them in ways you know best, which in return induces continuous learning. 

Rebecca also shared that accepting and acknowledging your worth is important throughout this development journey. Ultimately, it’s important to be kind to yourself; when you see an opportunity for improvement, and if it’s within your power to do so, why not choose growth?