I Always Tell Everyone to Be Strong, Until I Realized That I Was the Weakest One.
Even a strong heart needs a moment to rest.
I’ve always the person people turned to when they need someone to listen. I’m always willing to give my shoulder for them to cry on, the friend who’s always ready to give the advice that the other people need. the one who offers comfort in times of distress. They know me for being strong, for having it all together. I always tell everyone to be strong, that everything will get better soon, to hold on — but what happen when the one who’s always strong becomes the weakest of all?
“always the listener, never the listened”
It’s not that hard to listen, to be the one who offers advice and support. But being the listener comes with its own burdens. I am always the listener, never the listened. I always give a lot of myself to others that there’s little left for me. Telling everyone to be strong, but deep down, it keeps me wondering where my own strength has gone.
The truth is, I’ve become so used of being strong for them, that I’ve forgotten how to be strong for myself. I’ve spent most of my times helping others that I’ve neglected my own needs. I’m always here to listen, but when it’s myself who needs someone to talk to, I don’t know where to go. I’ve surrounded myself with barriers, convinced that I have to be strong, I have to be the one who holds it all together.
Even the strongest among us have their breaking point.
To be honest, I am not as strong as what other people think. In fact, I might be the weakest of us all. I never showed my struggles, pretending that everything is fine even when it’s not. I always tell myself that I need to handle it alone — that I don’t need any help from others. But the reality is, I do need help. I also need someone to listen to me, to hear my pain, to offer me the same shoulder I’ve given to others.
I’ve spent so much time telling other people to be strong, that I forgot that it’s also okay to be weak sometimes. Being strong doesn’t mean you need to carry the weight of the world, It doesn’t mean that you need to hide behind a mask of strength. You don’t need to pretend that everything is okay when it is not.
True strength is acknowledging your weaknesses, your problems, and your need to support, It’s recognizing that you also need other people to heal.
I always tell other people to be strong, but now I realized that I also need to take my own advice. I need to have the strength to accept that I am struggling too, that I also need help, that I can’t do it all alone, It’s time to accept other people in, to allow myself to be listened to, to share the burden that I’ve been carrying for so long.
So, here I am, being honest that I am not as strong as I’ve pretended to be, that I am tired of being the listener who never gets listened to. I’m ready to tell myself and the people surrounding me. I am ready to ask for help, willing to let others in, to be seen vulnerable. Because true strength isn’t about being invincible — It is about being real.
