Recognizing your weakness

Everyone has something that they are AWESOME at. I'd say my biggest asset are my problem solving skills. Give me a problem, YO, I'll solve it!

However, as human beings we are all flawed. No one is perfect.
Isn't it funny how common that phrase is? "No one is perfect" or "We're all human." We're always taught that it's ok to be flawed and to focus on all the things that make us AWESOME.
While that is great advice, it's also terrible advice. Please give me a minute to explain.

I feel like I'm going through a "growth spurt". I keep finding these motivational things that inspire me to grow. I am eating healthy, I am exercising, I am losing weight, I am bringing my positivity to #PositiveThurs and one other thing.

There is one other "flaw" that I have that I've not shared with you. I'm terrrrrrrrrible with budgeting. I'm a paycheck to paycheck type of girl. I'm GREAT at spending every penny and allocating every dollar. I have $50 left and payday is in 2 days? Awesome, let's go out for dinner.
It wasn't until recently (in the last year) that I realized that I have this "problem". I didn't even realize it was a problem.

So I started a debt management program with an awesome credit counselling society. They rock. Like, SERIOUSLY ROCK. They put on webinars and you have an assigned counsellor who helps you with your particular situation.
Do you have a seasonal job where you only get a steady paycheck 9 out of 12 months? They can help.
Do you want to have a stay at home parent and still make it work financially? They can help.

I attended a webinar this week and I'd like to pass on a little nugget of info I learned. This is so ridiculously obvious that I can't believe I never thought of it.
Unexpected Expenses: Like your pet getting sick, or your car breaking down or someone back home is ill and you want to go visit them. That's what credit cards are for, right? Well, that's a tricky road. We've convinced ourselves as a society that it's ok to put ourselves in debt, because those expenses were unexpected. We couldn't have known that our car was going to break down. Or could we?
We *know* unexpected expenses occur, so that's why it's important to budget those too. 
I can't believe I never thought to save for the unexpected. I've thought "Ok, I want to go to Russia, so I need to save $XXXX.XX to get there." or "I'm saving this money to buy a car." but never "I want to save so that I have the money to pay for the necessary things."

Here's the great thing about recognizing this weakness: I am stronger for it. I'm able to learn new skills and to adapt to a new way of thinking.... therefore eliminating that weakness.
So yes, celebrate the things you are AWESOME for (because I'm sure there are a lot of them.) but don't forget to recognize your weaknesses too. Because therein lies all your opportunity for growth.