Mike

I think as well as knowing my strengths, it's also important to know my weaknesses. Not only do I need to admit to them as they balance me out, but it also gives me things I can work on. I'm trying not to get too bogged down in the dark side, God only knows I've spent enough time there recently but it's still part of who I am.

However, personality traits are very different to the situation and events that lead to the depression. Discovering my bisexuality is not a weakness, my wife's failure to cope is not my weakness, mental illness is not a weakness.

My inability to say no to people, on the other hand, is a personal weakness. At work I've learned to ask what a task's priority is, compared to the rest of my workload. Outside of work - we all want people to like us and if we say no to someone, they might not want to know us anymore. That's always been a problem of mine!

Public speaking scares me something terrible. Luckily it's not something I have to do very often - or ever at all, if I'm honest - I haven't since presentations in school. I get tongue-tied speaking in front of a group of people but can talk to people one-on-one without any problems at all

I can also be very stubborn.

Lately, Chris Hemsworth has become a weakness - does he count? ;)

All this navel-gazing has me thinking about my values, the way I want to live my life.

We face tough decisions everyday. As a parent, (ex)husband and business professional I encounter several circumstances each day which test my patience, my character and my peace of mind. For me, my values guide me and shape my priorities and reactions. They serve as my markers to tell me if my life is heading in the right direction and if it is out turning out the way I want it to.

I'm trying to make a deliberate and conscious attempt to identity which values are the most important to me, in the hopes it will help to keep my anxiety low and my happiness and sense of personal worth and self-awareness high.

While these are not an exhaustive list, these are the most important for me to live by and the ones I want to pass along to my son.

Belief in Others. It can be your attitude; your resolve, that can lift someone up when they are down. Their doubt can be erased by your confidence. And something else amazing happens: belief is contagious – the more you believe in others; the more you will continue to believe in yourself.

Compassion. We are all part of this thing called the human condition. No doubt we have different skin colors, religious preferences and political points-of-view, but at the end of the day, we still need to take care of one another.

Love. The presence of love in our life, the love we have for our families, our friends, our faith and for ourselves, is the single most important source of light and energy we can tap into when we have the need to be filled-up; or when we see the need to fill someone else up with grace, hope and our love