Awareness of your shortcomings doesn’t excuse them

We all have shortcomings in our lives, and it’s important to be aware of what they are. However, self-awareness doesn’t excuse them and you should be working to smooth out your rough places.

On a recent episode of Adam Grant’s “Rethinking” podcast, he had Brené Brown and Simon Sinek on to talk about leadership kills. At one point during the episode, Simon mentioned something that lead to this post:

I heard a guy in the extreme say, “I’m an asshole, but that’s just who I am.” I’m like, well, just being aware of it doesn’t excuse it.

That goes back to the idea of “ if you can’t handle me at my worst, you don’t deserve me at my best.”

While that could be true, people that use statements like that are essentially telling us that they have no desire to improve “their worst”, so you should learn to deal with it.

I believe the opposite. If you’re aware of what your “worst” is, you should be working to improve it.

Originally published at https://www.mickmel.com on June 10, 2023.