There are psychological characteristics that, although in some cases can be useful, in most cases, in practice, they cause more problems than they solve.

These traits can be considered the main weaknesses of the human being , unprotected points of our personality that can become spaces through which setbacks can occur.

How do we identify those moments when our weaknesses put us in a vulnerable situation? Let’s look at some ideas and examples.

The main weaknesses of the human being

This is a summary list of typical weaknesses that cause us to lose more energy and effort than necessary. They contribute to maintaining situations that cause us real headaches and in many cases also make problems arise out of nowhere that should not exist .

However, as is always the case in these cases, every name for a human being’s weaknesses is an abstraction, which means that when they appear in our daily lives it is not obvious that we are dealing with them. Knowing them helps to detect them, but this is not enough; we must stop and think and pay attention to what we do and what we feel.

1. Impatience

Impatience is one of the main obstacles that keep us from our goals. The most ambitious goals require a lot of effort, time and resources , and if impatience takes over, any plan or strategy aimed at that kind of goal will be shaken by the relative lack of short term compensation.

For example, the decision to spend a lot of money on a trip and not a personal project that would have had a good chance of succeeding is a sign of how impatience can lead to stagnation.

2. Selfishness

Egoism can be positive in specific situations, but in a great number of situations it only leads us to cut our ties with society .

In this way, it makes us gradually become lonely, not only harming those around us because of the times when we disappoint them, but also leading us to lose human capital around us: fewer people willing to help us and to make an effort to support us when we need it.

3. Jealousy

Jealousy leads us to feel the need to control other people’s lives for fear of losing them, which is, paradoxically, a fact that significantly damages any personal bond we might have with her by not recognizing her individuality and personal freedom.

For example, a person who looks badly on his or her partner being left with friends alone is becoming jealous and trying to make the loved one’s entire social life revolve around him or her.

4. Cowardice

Cowardice leads us not to make decisions that, although uncomfortable and involve going outside the comfort zone, are necessary for our lives or those of our community or collective to improve.

For example, not wanting to cut someone off so as not to expose yourself to a situation full of crying and frustration is often an example of cowardice that hurts at least two people (including yourself).

5. Conformity with Ignorance

Conformity does not have to be bad; after all, not everyone lives in a situation where they can afford to take constant risks in order to achieve different goals. However, conformism applied specifically to knowledge is ‘one of the human weaknesses. The reason is that it makes us go blind in a world in which knowledge can save us many problems .

For example, the belief that one does not need to know anything about politics to create a just and functional society is often detrimental not only to the individual, but to society as a whole.

6. Resentment

Concentrating on old offenses, whether real or imagined, is another weakness of the human being that facilitates the emergence of unjustified hostilities .

Sometimes resentment can cause the whole of society to dislike a vague sense of offense caused by the idea that life has taken more from us than it has given. But, in practice, it only encourages isolation and difficulties in creating meaningful emotional attachments: few people like to deal with those who hold passive-aggressive attitudes.

7. Dependency

There are people who get used to living according to the way others live, imitating their values, their way of thinking and acting, and even their aesthetics.

Over time, this leads to unsustainable situations, because it is not possible to live indefinitely following a life project that is not the one you have built yourself. And, when those who have fallen into this dynamic of dependence become aware of it, to this problem is added the feeling of having wasted time for months or years . Therefore, this is one of the weaknesses of the human being with a greater power when it comes to generating existential crises.

8. Little openness to new experiences

Human beings should always focus on new challenges, new experiences that allow them to take steps forward in their personal development. Meeting new people, visiting countries and cultures, reading about interesting topics … are habits that make an individual grow intellectually and be more open to crossing new horizons.

People who are not able to open up to new experiences often get stuck in anodyne realities, with unedifying habits that anchor them to a boring reality. To try to resolve this situation it is only necessary to open our minds and be willing to step out of our comfort zone and seek out what our concerns are.

9. Controlling attitude

The tendency to want to control the behavior of groups or individuals gives way to many dysfunctions in social life. In fact, it sometimes facilitates the emergence of violence, using force as a method of demonstrating power and establishing dominance. This is why it is one of the aspects in which the quality of life of oneself and others can be damaged: it generates confrontation.

10. Excess Ego

People who govern themselves excessively according to strict codes of honour and who are not capable of admitting their mistakes because of pride present one of the human being’s weaknesses that most damage social life: the excess of Ego. This can lead to the generation of enmities in a totally unnecessary way, and even facilitates the loss of health due to the inability to recognize that help is needed.

11. Mismanagement of anger

People who are not able to control their anger believe that the world is a place where any affront to them must be corrected immediately, if only by expressing the anger and harming someone with it . Irrationally, they believe that there is a system of compensation in the world whereby if the one who has acted wrongly cannot compensate for the damage, he can at least be the target of the offended one’s anger.

This only brings problems, because on the one hand, anger blinds you and does not even allow you to stop and think whether the person you are attacking is really responsible for what has happened to you, and on the other hand, sometimes making someone pay for the dish is even worse than not doing it at all, if you lose even more by doing it yourself.

Bibliographic references:

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  • Ayduk, Ozlem N.; Mendoa-Denton, Rodolfo; Mischel, Walter; Downey, Geraldine; Peake, Philip K.; Rodriguez, Monica L. (2000). “Regulating the interpersonal self: Strategic self-regulation for coping with rejection sensitivity”. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 79 (5): 776–792.
  • Burnley, J. (1993). Conflict. Ed. Morata, Madrid.
  • Hofmann SG, Dibartolo PM (2010). Introduction: Toward an Understanding of Social Anxiety Disorder. Social Anxiety.
  • Kahneman, Daniel; Tversky, Amos (March 1979). “Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision under Risk” (PDF). Econometrics. 47 (2): 263–291.