Selective Strength
Have you ever felt strong around someone? Have you ever felt weak around someone else?
I think a lot of our strength comes from the people around us.
Picture a mother with a heavy bag. When her husband is around, she might hand it to him and say it’s too heavy. Later the same day, with her young child, she carries that bag in one hand and the child in the other while talking on the phone.
Weird, right? I don’t think so.
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She knew she could lift the bag all along. With her husband there, she chose not to. Maybe it wasn’t about the bag at all. Maybe it was about being looked after, and in that moment the bag really did feel heavier. But with her child, she knew no one was coming to help. So she lifted more than she normally would, without a second thought.
We don’t use all our strength all the time. We use the amount the moment asks for, and the people around us decide much of that.
Strength, I believe, is more of a mind game. You believe that it comes from your physicality, which is not wrong, but not the only truth. Your strength is more about the situation and the circumstance you are in.
So think back, have you ever felt stronger, or weaker, than you really are?
