Inaction

When asked for a weakness in interviews, people often reply with cloaked strengths. 'I am a bit of a perfectionist' or 'people can find me tough to deal with because I am more interested in succeeding than them'. This is partly because it isn't a level playing field. Interviewers get to play God in a world where the job is normally way more important to the person applying. Interviewers can throw away half the CVs they receive, because it saves time and... you don't want unlucky people.

It is also because in a world that believes in meritocracy, the business has no responsibility to the applicant to help them work on or accommodate genuine weaknesses. Genuine obstacles.

Q: What is your biggest weakness?

A: I tend to be a little too honest.

Q: I think that is a strength.

A: I don't give a fuck what you think.

I have what I consider a genuine weakness when it comes to Righteous Indignation and an allergy to Unconsensual Hierarchy. What makes it genuine is that it does cause regular clashes, or the need to opt out. There is lots of injustice in the world, and if you are constantly exploding or even just getting worked up, effectiveness plummets. Like the fake perfectionist hard ass, it is not something I am willing to get go of. I do need management techniques.

The world is the way it is, and changes from where it is. The two management techniques I am working on are Acceptance and Detachment. Neither of these means not caring. Not caring also works, if you view something as a means to an end. My issue is that if I genuinely don't care, I mentally and emotionally check out. I am an all in, or all out, kind of guy. So I need to care about the means.

Wu Wei is the Chinese concept of Action through Inaction. By getting to understand something *as it is* and accepting it, rather than fighting it, change becomes much more likely. You do care, even though it may appear to the outside world that you are doing nothing about it. Action is delayed while understanding is gathered. Slowly. Gently. Lovingly.

Weaknesses become things to be understood, rather than things to be filtered out.

Calm