Don’t sand off your rough edges

In this piece, Madeline Dore suggests that the things we think of as our weaknesses are usually the flipside of our strengths. In her own example, she feels ashamed of being unrealistic, taking on too much and getting overwhelmed, but realises this is the 'price' she pays for the positive trait of being an 'ambitious overachiever'. In other words, she can't fix her weakness without also erasing her strength.

I really like the sentiment of embracing the tensions we hold as part of what aids our creativity. It's particularly relevant to me, as I like to keep up with self-help advice and lifehacks – I took this as another reminder to hold true the things that make me, me.

"Despite the proliferation of self-improvement articles, there is no way to sand off our edges, no hack that will make us perfect, no secret recipe for success. Rather, it’s the highly personal and relative ways individuals navigate the ordinary parts of themselves that give our lives a brighter edge."