Institute for Hermetic Philosophy

This next quote highlights one of the most misunderstood aspects of working on oneself. It is also one of the most feared and avoided, but necessary parts of internal growth.

We hope you can manage to stay awake, in order to squeeze the content out of it!

“Each personal shortcoming is like an energy mine, waiting to be exploited by those bold enough to take on the ordeal feared by most: confronting and overcoming oneself.”
Dario Salas Sommer

Sometimes it seems like we would rather be tossed into a vat of bubbling lava than consider that our personal shortcomings are what is responsible for problems we are facing in life.

It is much easier to pass off difficult moments on someone else, the weather, our partner, our boss, our employee, anyone. But the pain truth is, if there is a problem that has stayed with us for a long time, our inability to resolve an internal issue is probably playing a major role.

Many criticize an approach to self transformation that directly targets our own character flaws, as too aggressive, painful, or critical. But contrary to what some part of us believes, it is possible to love and value ourselves while taking full responsibility for our personal failings. Many great thinkers have actually defined higher self love as taking ourselves patiently by the hand and committing to resolve our personal issues, in order to achieve a life of deep fulfillment and happiness.

Having shortcomings doesn’t make you a bad person – it makes you alive. We all have them; even very evolved people have to work with their character flaws to become ever more conscious. Personal issues are not a judgment value, they are an energetic drain – like a cold or a flu. Just as you wouldn’t call someone a bad person because they have the flu, you can train yourself think of things like vanity, pride, disorganization, aggressiveness, addictions, and other personal problems as technical issues – ones that can absolutely be resolved with the right energy, consciousness, and attention.

The toll that accepting our shortcomings can have on our self esteem is the reason why most people don’t want to even think about them.
This is why internal work is often better done with a harmonious body of committed people working together, helping each other to see these energy drains in a way that is almost impossible to do alone.

These are patterns of energy that has become trapped because of the way we have approached life, and we can free up this energy through approaching life in a different way. In fact, if you want a better life, a direct way to have it is by resolving some of the personal defects that are leeching your energy and vitality.

The main message is that the shortcomings, character flaws, or whatever you want to call them, are a potential boost of energy, vitality, and inner wealth for you – like a gold mine on your property that you don’t know about. If you can manage to neutralize one or more of these negative attributes even to a modest degree, you will experience things like:

Greater Self Esteem
More Energy
Greater Material Success
Confidence
Deeper Relationship with others
Greater Willpower
Self Love
These are all great reasons to look at life through the lens of internal development.
It is a great investment, in ourselves and in our connection with our Being.

Here is a closing question for you: What is one personal shortcoming you would like to work on this year? Can you approach it neutrally without judgment?