Your strengths feed your weaknesses. And vice versa.
This is hard to grasp for anyone who craves simplicity and can’t tolerate ambiguity and uncertainty. Especially inside himself.
An example.
20-25 years back, when I was a company CEO, contracts were brought to me for signature. Time was short, papers were many, so I skimmed fast. Then suddenly I’d say, “Stop. What’s this?”
“How did you catch that?!” my manager would mutter in shock. Neither he nor the lawyers had noticed a serious mistake that slipped in from earlier versions into a thirty-page client contract. Me? One glance, and I nailed it.
Today I call this ability anomaly detection. Back then, I just shrugged: luck, it jumped out.
Valuable? From a management view, yes. Boosts safety. Alas, outside work, the gift turns curse.
Drop me in paradise garden, and I'd sniff: "Hm, here's a flaw. And there." My mind flags glitches on its own—I don't even try.
It’s obvious that in "hunt for flaws” mode, joy, peace, and calm are impossible. Part of consciousness stays anxious, scanning the horizon like a sheepdog.
So I had to deliberately learn where the “Off” switch is for this mode. Not just to stop seeing, but to start loving dust, dirt, and mistakes.
There’s progress. But, haha, I’m still far from perfection.
Sincerely yours,
-Alexander
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