"Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character." —Albert Einstein
- anthonyjhilbers
- Mar 2, 2023
- 2 min read
Updated: Mar 12, 2023
What's the first thing that comes to mind when you think of the term ‘weakness’? Someone who isn't very strong physically? Someone who has a hard time standing up for themselves? Someone who lets an abuser continue to abuse? For me I think of mental weakness.
The inability to or lack of willingness to make the right choices (or maybe it's something else that circumvents wrong choices). I think mental weakness is what drives many to make wrong decisions, to treat others poorly, and to not love themselves. Chelsea told me a story the other day about a couple at a restaurant fighting. The man in the relationship cussed and yelled at his wife, while she just starred hopelessly. Chelsea felt so sad for that couple, and so disheartened by all of the hatred and negativity in the world. I told her what that man did was wrong, and he did it because he is weak.
I've seen weakness crush a couple of guys in here already. They want to do right, but time and time again, they get sucked into weakness - into lying, cheating, abuse, and addiction. Into not listening to authority. They get caught up in it, get caught, and are required to leave the "easy life" of a camp and be in isolation for 10, 20, sometimes 90 days. Before they can even return to camp, they have to stay at the low security facility, and during this time they lose a lot of privileges, as you can imagine. The main privilege I see them losing is the ability to communicate with the outside world.
We all have things we're working on, especially things that make us feel (mentally) weak. It's not "easy" in here by any means, but I make it a point every day to recognize temptations and face the challenges. To work towards being mentally strong and make the right decisions. Because I need to stay connected to the outside world. Because I need to stay connected to those who matter most. Because making the right decisions now and in the future, can only bring me closer to where I want to be, and impact my time here in a positive way.
And, maybe, just maybe, making the right decisions helps make the world just a little better, just a little stronger.
Anthony, I love what you’re writing. Keep it coming. I’m exploring a lot of this myself. Trying to get mentally stronger. Finding peace and stillness in myself. We can all be so weak at times. I’m praying for you. I pray that you can find that same peace and stillness during this challenge.