Strengths and Weaknesses

What is it really that makes up strengths and weaknesses of people?

It is not always easy to pinpoint your strength and weakness. You're going to need a lot of input from the people you interact with. However, it is more often than not that people will tell you what you want to hear instead of the truth. That's because the truth always hurts people and majority of people don't want to hurt others.

Having said that, will it then be okay to define by yourself what your positives and negatives are?

In an interview for example, when an interviewer asks you about your strengths and weaknesses, will you tell them yours based on your job or based on your character? I believe that when a friend asks you know exactly how to respond, but when your career depends on it becomes a difficult question to answer.

I do believe though that in any circumstances, when strengths and weaknesses are asked, they generally would want to hear your character. It is the character of an individual that defines a person anyway.

For me, here I think are my strengths;

- I'm good at people management and relationship building. I also believe that this is my strongest asset.

- I'm good a leading and mentoring people, be it within my family or at work

- Good at planning and organising

- Great at working with others, collaborating is just more fun and makes difficult issues easy to deal with

- A problem solver and a decision maker

I believe that these are weaknesses;

- I can get out of focus at times

- I trust people very easily and this can lead to different results

- And because I trust people very easily, that makes me a reactive person at certain times.

These are mostly the feedback I get from my friends, colleagues and mentors. I do hope however,  that they are mostly the truth.

A Self-Promise on Our 10th Wedding Anniversary

We just celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary last week in Bangkok. It was a post celebration because we had so much in our hands the last couple of months. Our real anniversary is on the 18th of January and on that day, we only went to church and a simple lunch date.

We opted to go to Bangkok instead of going to the beach because for one, the travel time is far shorter :). Wifey booked this hidden paradise hotel in the middle of the city, Siam Kempinski Hotel Bangkok. Probably the best hotel we have stayed so far. The hotel itself was great. Great gardens, pools, amenities and really close to our favourite mall, Siam Paragon :).

The lay out of the pool was really great. It is also filled with sea water instead of the ordinary chlorinated one. Our son really wants to try the pool. Although we packed our swimming clothes, we were adamant on going because we were already tired but we found relaxation there instead so it was really worth the time spent. The atmosphere was just extraordinary and it has this exclusive resort / garden feel.

The people of Bangkok in general are nice, hospitable and welcoming. I really haven't been to any place in Thailand other than Bangkok so I can only assume that every where in the country, people's attitude would be the same. We liked how the hotel staff accommodates their guests. I believed service is already a culture and not just a part of the job.

Anyways, we couldn't believed that we are already on our 10th anniversary. It seemed like it was only a few years ago when we got married. Now here we are. We are praying to God that he will give us more years together. And that someday, we can do our version of road trip.

My wish is that, on our 15th anniversary, I wish we can renew our vows. For now though, I just want to thank my wife for being my best friend, my teacher, my nurse, my confidant, my everything. She had done so much for me without expecting anything in return. She makes me laugh (she laughs on my jokes too), she helps me make the best decisions (the ones that I made & the ones I am going to). She makes me feel more confident. She helps me achieve my goals and push my limits.

I know that I am not the perfect husband but I hope that she continues to stand by my side and continue to accept me for who I am. I promise to be a better best friend, teacher, nurse and confidant to her too.

And I promise to continue aiming higher... for us, Happy 10th Anniversary Honey.