Our greatest strengths are our greatest weaknesses

For some people their greatest strengths can be their greatest weaknesses. I have a particular strength that falls into this category.

Talking was something I loved doing from a very early age. If you missed a tv programme or anything for that matter, I am the person to tell you what happened. I tell you the whole story not leaving any details out. I am so thorough that you don't even need to ask me any questions because I would have answered all your questions in telling you the story.

Communication is my thing...most of the time it is one of my greatest strengths but sometimes it can also be my greatest weakness. The reason why I say this is that sometimes when people ask me a question I normally will give them the full explanation rather than leaving all the other details out and just provide the answer to the question. It is because of this that I sometimes lose the interest or attention of the person that I am talking to.

I need to learn to read people before I start communicating with them. Figure out if I can give them the whole story or just provide the answer. It is very difficult though...this is the way I communicate and it is not easy to force myself to just provide a short answer to the question.

This is the reason why some people get frustrated with me...but most of the people know what I am like and are used to the way I communicate. So yes, your greatest strengths can be your greatest weaknesses.

Feelings follow behaviour

Behaviour stems from the way your parents brought you up. The values they taught you, the morals they instilled in you and teaching you the difference between right and wrong.

This is what defines your behaviour and therefore everyone will behaviour in a different manner. Behaviour can be acceptable or unacceptable. This is determined by the person, based on the way they were brought up.

As a result feelings follow behaviour. People will determine whether other people's behaviour is acceptable based on what they know and have experienced. Feelings are then expressed based on the way one person behaviours towards another.

Behaviour needs to take place first and the feelings will follow. It is like an reaction to an action.

It is better to practice a little than talk a lot.

For someone like me being in the industry that I am in talking is part of my job. I feel that communication is important, not only in my job but in my day to day life.

The saying "practice makes perfect" does come to mind when I look at this statement and I understand the importance of practicing. It applies to anything that you want to do whether it is in your job or a hobbie or interest that you have. The more you practice it the better you get.

As important as this is, as a Marketing and Communications Officer communication is of utmost importance to me. Not only do I communicate to my colleges but I also communicate to our customers.

So I don't think that practice should talk preference over talking! I think that you should spend as much time practicing as you should talking. What you talk about you can also put that into practice. Rather exercise both tasks rather than concentrate on one or the other.

It is a poor idea to lie to yourself.

Some people prefer to lie to themselves. They do it so that they don't have to face to truth. The only problem with that is that the lies always catch up with you.

It might start off as one small lie but generally that lie leads to another lie and then another and another. Eventually you can't even remember what you lied about in the beginning. For some people the more they tell the lie whether its to themself or others the more they start to believe that it really is true.

It is a poor idea to lie to yourself. Why would you want to deceive yourself like that? You are only making things more complicated for yourself, never mind the other people that you are also telling the lie too.

Face the truth, whether it is hard, ugly or complicated...thats life! You will find a way to work though it. You might even surprise yourself! Don't let the lies get the better of you.

No all who wander are lost.

Not everyone that wanders is lost. It might just mean that they are procrastinating. Everyone is busy and everyone has many things to get done in a day but that doesn't mean that we are always looking forward to doing them.

There might be that meeting you are just not wanting to attend, so you decide to first go to the bathroom and then take the long way round the office to the boardroom. For some its the hard, driven personal trainer that you might be trying to avoid. For others its the process of walking around the shopping centre not really taking in everything around you, but just aimlessly walking from one end to the other.

Just because you spend time wandering it doesn't mean that you are lost, it might just mean that you are not in a hurry to get somewhere. So no all who wander are lost they are just prolonging the inevitable.

How do you step from the top of a 100-foot pole?

My life keeps me really busy. I have a full time job in Communications, I study part time to obtain my Degree in Public Relations Management, I exercise three days a week and still have time for my personal things like my home, fiancé, socialising etc.

I am proud of the things that I have accomplished throughout my life and the things that I am currently doing. I feel that because of where I am in my life and all the things that I do I am at the top of the 100-foot pole.

This is not a easy place to be...you constantly need to make sure that you continue to stay on top of the pole, meaning to continue to do the things that I have been doing without letting anyone of them lack in anyway or the other.

To some people my achievements might not be what they feel warrants being at the top of a 100-foot pole but that's their decision. Everyone is different and their expectations for themselves are different.

So right now I would not be stepping down from the pole. I will through hard work continue to stay at the top until I have completed the current goals in my life and choose new ones. Once I have chosen new goals I will step down from the 100-foot pole only to work on them until I get to the top of the pole once more. For me that is how you step down from a 100-foot pole!

We are what we do.

I have been reflecting on this topic for the last week and I have arrived the conclusion that this statement is wholeheartedly true.

I firmly believe that one's actions reflect not only one's state of mind but character as well. You can tell a lot about someone by various factors such as: dress sense, taste in music, career choice, interests, hobbies, reading habits and choice in partner.

For instance I decided to study Public Relations Management because I have a flair for languages which relates to me being a good communicator. Another factor that relates back to what I do is the fact that I am a avid reader.

So you don't always have to strike up a conversation with someone to get to know them, you can always just spend sometime observing what they do on a daily basis. This would give you a clear indication as to what type of person they are. Just bear in mind that although you can tell a lot about someone by observing what they do, you can't always just base you opinion on that as you can't always judge a book by its cover.