You may discover any number of weaknesses within yourself like anger, insecurity and impatience, among others. I know I personally struggle with being honest with myself, some ego, insecurities, and impatience. I always find myself rushing and it ends up being more exhausting than productive. The hardest part about overcoming weaknesses is the awareness that you have them. Sometimes you have that awareness on your own, but many times a friend or loved one will expose your weakness to you. Don’t take the information personally. Think about it and examples in your life. If you do, in fact, have a personal weakness and want to correct it, follow the next 4 steps:

1. Awareness

Have awareness about your weaknesses. Keep your eyes open about the decisions you’re making. We are in the habit of making decisions that play into our personal flaw. For example, I still discover I’m lying to myself about something. My internal dialogue, has started to ask myself if I’m being honest or not about a situation.” That brings me to step 2.

2. Mindfulness

Be aware of the thoughts that flash through your mind. It can be quite easy to let them race by without being aware of what you’re thinking. Those thoughts drive you to make poor decisions. Slow the mind down and capture the negative thoughts that lead you down the path to faulty decisions.

3. Make New Choices

Once you are aware of your thoughts, you can make a new choice that is out of your flawed habit. It can be hard to make a new choice when you’re accustomed to making the same one. It can feel like writing with your weaker hand, but if you know it’s right, carry on with a new choice.

4. Stick with It

If you do this enough times, you will correct your flaw and be on a path to better decisions for yourself and those around you.

If you follow this process for how to overcome your weaknesses, you’ll build your strengths and find yourself engaging with the world in better, more productive ways.