"Mentally Strong People."

Thelist on the right, defining what "mentally strong people do," would have slid past me a few years ago. I would have thought that people didn't need such aspirational strictures to be mentally strong. I imagined that people who were mentally strong would need to demonstrate that strength in the ether, in some formless void where people 

However, since then I've done a few things.

• I've read some self-help and psychology books.
• I've taken some courses in "Leadership."
• I've seen therapists and counsellors.
• I've taken responsibility for my poor boundaries and bad relational habits.

As a result, I'm seeing the value in defining traits, in not assuming that people will naturally find their way to self-improvement. So sometimes we need a chart of pithy statements.

I think I'm doing OK at a good portion of these:

• MY STRENGTHS ON THE LIST: 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18.
• MY STRENGTHS THAT I'VE NEGLECTED: 2, 4, 6, 
• POTENTIAL WEAKNESSES: 1, 3, 9, 15, 

Out of my most recent therapist sessions, I feel confident in my mental strength again. The problem for now, however, is that I need to deal with all the messiness that kicked in while I wasn't very strong, while I wasn't being "myself." Part of taking responsibility for past behaviour is confronting yourself and admitting that the bad behaviour in question may have caused some insurmountable problems. And what do you do when you're past behaviour makes you into a liar, or at least a fool? 

Strength in weakness, baby.

Image originally encountered at ​http://pin.it/oQEOUcs