"We all have our strengths and weaknesses. The best advice is to embrace, focus on andv nurture our strengths."
I grew up almost feeling that I was not good enough. Even though I was a bad ass footballer, I was so thin I felt I would always be at a disadvantage. Football in the streets was always physical.
I fought it though. Tried to be a menace- a deviant. I played with the big boys. The more I got talked down on- the worse I become. The more I stood up to them. But it just doesn't work out. I ended up broken because I would always lose out. It was their kind of game. They always beat me to it.
So even when I was balling so well and it got me the captain arm band in my club. My peers ( who were kids as just acting as innocent children) told me " captain band that they will soon collect from your hand, you wey no strong ". True to form, a week after that we went for an away match where we were kicked over by the boys. The ref didn't try to protect us. I elbowed an opponent and was sent off. The coach striped me off the arm band citing indiscipline and poor leadership as the cause . I was a kid. I thought that was how to stand up for your mates but I was stripped off the captaincy.
Now several events more events like this caused a far-reaching psychological damage that in my 20s when I had even become better refined in the round leather game i still thought I had to e built like Hulk to cope. It was a defeatist mindset that was self sabotaging.
Whenever football screenings came I would work so hard to be fit. But whenever I made the list I would be hampered by a deadly impostor mentality that made me think " I will soon mess up badly and fall below expectations like this."- Then I would think up reasons why I wasn't good enough to be in the team and why someone else was better poised and more deserving because he was physically stronger. I never thought physicality wasn't the only aspect of the game.
So people always said I was a special player. That I was marked for greatness. That I was exceptionally talented. I always thought I was good too but I didn't think I good enough to be the best. I just thought I was good in my own way. I always thought physicality was the most important aspect of the game.
So one particular football screening, I met this Coach who seemed to really like me. He asked what my strengths are. I told him I am blessed with CALMNESS and COMPOSURE. I hold the ball very well. He asked me about my weakness. And I told him I am not the STRONGEST physically. He instructed me to watch videos of Sergio Busquets the Barcelona DM because we are similarly built and also play the same pattern. He advices me to forget about my weakness. He said "
When we focus on our strength, we grow faster than trying to improve on our weakness." Those words rang a bell on my head. It was all I needed to retrospect.
So now when I get into matches that are physical. I don't try to show power and to get physical like my opponents. I don't try to impose myself . Past experiences has shown that it doesnt always end well.
These days I try to hold the ball and move away from the opponents. Try to shield the ball away from the opponents. A few times they will bump into me and I would get a foul. It was so satisfying. I didn't need to complain or try to hit back at them. Everything works well for me because I improved on my strength while paying no attention to my weakness.
These days when I use my strength I am more happier, excited and confident.
When I find out I am consistently failing or falling short of the goals I set for myself I try to consider to improve where I am already strong rather than focusing my efforts on areas where I am weak.
I am an ardent believe of the phrase "focus on yourself." We all have to be.
I believe we should all have a growth mindset. We should put more energy into learning. I believe that to grow professionally and personally, it is not enough to identify your strengths and use them. You also need to believe that those strengths can be improved.
Greatful to 
Peace and love ❤️