The 40 weaknesses of the human being (list and examples)

There are psychological characteristics that, although in some cases they can be useful, in most cases, in practice, 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 slip through. In other words, it is about psychological characteristics that lead us to self-sabotage, to fall into dynamics of behavior that harm us in the long and medium term, just for giving in to certain impulses and wishes.

How to identify those moments in which our weaknesses put us in a vulnerable situation? Let's look at several ideas and examples.

• Related article: "The Big 5 Personality Traits: Sociability, Responsibility, Openness, Kindness, and Neuroticism"

The main weaknesses of the human being

This is a summary list of typical weaknesses for which we lose more energy and effort than necessary. They help to maintain situations that They cause us real headaches and in many cases they also make problems that we create ourselves arise out of nowhere.

and that otherwise should not exist.

Of course, as always happens in these cases, each name of the weaknesses of the human being is a abstraction, which means that when they appear in our day to day it is not evident that we are before they. Knowing them helps to detect them, but this is not enough; we have to stop to think and pay attention to what we do and what we feel.

1. Impatience

Impatience is one of the main obstacles that keep us apart from our goals. The most ambitious goals require investing a lot of effort, time and resources, and if impatience takes control of the situation, any plan or strategy that is directed to that kind of ends will falter due to the relative lack of short-term compensation.

For example, the decision to spend a lot of money on a trip and it is not a personal project that I would have had many possibilities to prosper is an example of how impatience can make us let's stagnate

2. Selfishness

Selfishness can become positive in specific situations, but in a large number of situations all it does is lead us to cut our ties to society.

Thus, it makes us remain alone little by little, not only hurting those around us because of the times we let them down, but also also leading us to lose human capital around us: less people willing to help us and make an effort to give us support when it is needed. we need.

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 that we could have with her by not recognizing her individuality and personal freedom.

For example, a person who disapproves of her partner meeting friends alone is falling into jealousy and trying to make the loved one's entire social life revolve around her.

4. Cowardice

Cowardice leads us not to make decisions that, Although they are uncomfortable and mean leaving the comfort zone, they are necessary so that our lives or those of our community or collective improve.

For example, not wanting to break up with someone so as not to expose yourself to a situation full of tears and frustration is usually an example of cowardice that harms at least two people (including yourself).

It must be taken into account that cowardice does not consist in the simple fact of being afraid, but in letting fear paralyze us and stand between us and a goal that can clearly benefit us and that we know that we have opportunities to achieve, for the simple fact of avoiding a stressful situation in the short term term.

In personal relationships, cowardice often takes the form of a lack of assertiveness. And in the processes of personal development, this form of personal weakness is reflected above all in the avoiding new challenges in exchange for remaining in the day-to-day routines (without exposing ourselves to new goals). For this reason, cowardice often gives rise to self-esteem problems, since it keeps us away from situations that would allow us to show ourselves what we are capable of.

• You may be interested in: "How to get out of your comfort zone? 7 keys to achieve it"

5. conformism with ignorance

Conformism doesn't have to be bad; After all, not everyone lives in a situation where they can afford to constantly take risks in order to pursue different goals.

In the same way, and although this idea seems to go against common sense, ignorance is not a negative element in itself; it is an inevitable aspect that forms part of our lives, and as pointed out Socrates a thousand years ago, recognizing it in oneself can even become a requirement to advance towards wisdom.

However, the combination of conformism and ignorance does create problems. And it is that conformism applied specifically to knowledge is one of the human weaknesses; the reason is that it makes us blind in a world in which knowledge can save us a lot of trouble. Unfortunately, there are not a few people who believe that learning about certain topics that go beyond satisfying basic day-to-day needs creates more problems than it solves.

For example, the belief that you don't need to know anything about politics to create a just and functional society often harms not only the person, but the entire society.

6. Resentment

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

Sometimes, on occasions, resentment can cause the whole society in general to cause antipathy by a vague feeling of offense caused by the idea that life has taken more from us than it has given us given. But, in practice, it only favors isolation and difficulties in creating meaningful sentimental bonds: few people like to deal with those who hold passive-aggressive attitudes.

7. Dependence

There are people who get used to living according to the way in which 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 vital project that is not the one that one has built oneself. And, when whoever has fallen into this dynamic of dependency realizes, 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 greater power when it comes to generating existential crises.

8. Little openness to new experiences

The human being should always focus on new challenges, new experiences that allow him to take steps forward in his personal development. Meet new people, visit countries and cultures, read about interesting topics... They are habits that make an individual grow intellectually and be more open to crossing new horizons.

People who are not capable of opening up to new experiences often get stuck in dull realities, with habits that are not very edifying and that anchor them to a boring reality. To try to resolve this situation, it is only necessary to open your mind and be willing to leave our comfort zone and find out what our concerns are.

9. Controlling attitude towards others

The tendency to want to control the behavior of groups or individuals gives way to many dysfunctions in social life. In fact, sometimes it facilitates the appearance of violence, by using force as a method to demonstrate power and establish dominance.

Even if violence does not occur directly, this is one of the human weaknesses that can lead to problematic social dynamics if they are extended to a whole group of people by influence of a leader: creation of a demonized and caricatured external enemy, sectarian behavior, etc.

For this reason, the controlling attitude is one of the aspects in which the quality of life of oneself and of others can be damaged: it generates confrontation.

10. Too much perfectionism towards oneself

In the same way that the search for absolute control of others gives rise to serious problems, the search for excessive control over one's own behavior also harms us.

Dysfunctional perfectionism means that, despite the fact that we can be very good at something, the fact of being obsessed with doing everything in the best way produces insecurities and a low self-esteem by getting frustrated over and over again by not getting it.

11. excess of ego

People who adhere excessively to strict codes of honor and who they are not able to admit their mistakes because of pride They present one of the weaknesses of the human being that most damages social life: the excess of Ego. This can lead to unnecessarily making enemies, and even makes it easier to lose health due to the inability to recognize that help is needed.

Furthermore, this is one of the human weaknesses that prevent us from learning from our mistakes, since in this case, the simple fact of Acknowledging that we have made a mistake produces discomfort that the person does not manage adequately, trying to avoid this kind of experiences. This is a phenomenon closely related to what is known as cognitive dissonance.

12. Bad anger management

People who are unable to control their anger believe that the world is a place where any affront to them must be corrected immediately, even if it is only expressing anger and harming someone with it. Irrationally, they believe that in the world there is a compensation system whereby if the person who has acted wrong can not compensate the damage, at least it can be the target of the fury of those who feel insulted.

This only brings problems, because on the one hand, anger blinds them and does not even allow them to stop to think if the person they are attacking is the real one. responsible for what has happened to them, and on the other, sometimes making someone pay for the dish is even worse than not doing it, if by doing so one still loses further.

13. Lack of ambition

Lack of ambition, again, can be a good quality in most people. However, in the workplace, it is the ambitious people who manage to achieve the best objectives and get ahead towards the goals they set.

As long as it's in moderation, an ambitious person can achieve much higher heights than someone who lacks this much-needed quality in today's job market.

14. Arrogance

Arrogance is one of the least desirable qualities both in the workplace and professionally and makes us look like undesirable and unfriendly people in the eyes of others.

Believing yourself above other people in any area of ​​life is a very negative way of relating to the environment. That is why we will go much further with a humble attitude and treating those around us well.

15. lack of listening

Some people have a worrying lack of listening and this prevents them from communicating successfully with their environment in the personal, academic or professional field.

The lack of listening consists of lacking useful communication tools, as well as the basic social skills that serve for such use, such as empathy, assertiveness, conflict resolution, active listening and verbal communication or not verbal.

16. prejudices

Prejudices are an intellectual mechanism that makes us judge a person or a group of people prematurely without really knowing what the reality of these individuals is.

Prejudices lead us to embrace negative ideas towards minority groups, such as immigrants, and prevent us from relating naturally with everyone.

17. Frivolity

Frivolity consists of Taking serious life issues or situations lightly and without giving them the importance they deserve. It is one of the worst ways to function in life, especially in academic and work environments.

Some people cannot locate themselves in their day-to-day work and are not able to understand when it is time to have a good time and when to work hard to complete any objective or set goal.

18. Shame linked to one's own identity

Shame is a feeling that we have all experienced throughout our lives, an unpleasant feeling that floods your entire body and makes you want to disappear from the face of the earth.

Although it's normal to feel embarrassed from time to time, for some people it is a feeling that they have permanently before any activity of life, especially those that involve a social relationship of any kind.

This can be a real problem when it comes to prospering at work or even carrying out any daily activity of daily life.

19. Low self-esteem

Low self-esteem is another impediment that can get in the way of achieving success or the goals we set for ourselves and that prevents us from prospering normally in our daily lives.

People with low self-esteem have a low concept of themselves and believe they are inferior to anyone around them. There are many psychologists and therapists in charge of this type of intervention who can solve this problem.

20. Laziness

Laziness is a lack of desire to work, as well as to do any other activity or carry out any responsibility that is required of us during the day.

Is about one of the worst ways to face the challenges of life and it is certainly something that affects anyone who practices a lazy lifestyle, whether on a personal, professional or academic level.

21. Apathy

Apathy is similar to laziness but consists of a lack of motivation that may or may not be transitory, and that again can decisively affect the professional and personal future of the people who suffer from it.

And it is that a person with apathy will be unable to achieve their goals of any kind on time and will not be able to embark on any important company or project of any kind.

22. Cynicism

Cynicism consists of being satisfied before a mistake or a bad action of one's own, such as lying or performing any other despicable action by society.

Cynical people have everything against them to prosper in their lives, since it is a very unpopular lifestyle and almost not accepted by society in general.

23. Cruelty

Cruelty is the ability to be cruel to other people and living beings without showing a minimum of humanity or pain in the face of such events.

Cruel people are also not accepted by society and it is certainly a quality that most people hate in a person.

24. extreme pride

Although having pride in one's achievements is a positive quality, pride can be really negative if it is held in excess by anyone. Pride has to do with believing yourself to be better than others and conceiving yourself in a superior position to other people, a dynamic that is undoubtedly very negative in today's society.

25. excessive ambition

Just as a lack of ambition can be counterproductive in our daily lives, excessive ambition is not the path we should take to succeed in life.

Being overly ambitious and willing to go ahead of everyone else to achieve one's own purposes is to practice a very little civic and responsible attitude with the people who are around us. around.

26. Incoherence

Consistency is one of the safest values ​​to succeed in life, this means acting according to the values ​​that one has and those that are proclaimed.

Inconsistent people often act completely differently from what they preach, and vice versa, certainly a position that usually earns many enemies in life, since sincerity and consistency are the most desired.

27. Rebellion

Rebelliousness can be a quality in some people who fight for truth and justice, however It can also be negative when the person is rebellious in a systematic way and in any situation of the life. life.

And it is that unjustified rebellion on the part of someone is usually perceived as something negative by society and is a real obstacle to prosper in life.

28. Hostility

Hostility is another of the most negative attitudes that exist and consists of always being contrary to everyone by default and completely gratuitously without paying attention to logical reasons.

Once again, we are faced with a weakness that can prevent a person from prospering in life and that undoubtedly leads to earning quite a few enemies.

29. lack of initiative

The lack of initiative is a deficit that can jeopardize the employment and working life of anyone, since in current jobs the initiative is one of the values ​​that are most on the rise

People who do not have initiative, who do not know how to react in time and who expect others to always do their dirty work often have real problems keeping their jobs.

30. Neglect

the neglect consists of being unscrupulous or careful in any area of ​​life, and it can occur at the work level when a person does not perform their work correctly with care and speed or on a personal level.

In the personal sphere, neglect can appear as a lack of personal hygiene or in people who have little decorum when it comes to dressing correctly and according to each situation.

31. Indolence

Indolence is an attitude presented by those people to whom situations do not affect them in the slightest and who do not feel any discomfort in conflict or problem situations.

This quality is not recommended to function correctly in life, since feeling affected by the situations that happen in front of us is something important both on a personal level and professional.

32. Complacency

Complacency consists of thinking that one is perfect and that you do not need to improve in any way in any area of ​​your existence.

This is one of the least desirable qualities both in the world of work and in personal relationships, since decent people know that they always need to improve on something.

33. Lack of motivation

People who have little motivation in their lives or who have a hard time finding motivation often have real problems achieving success in any area of ​​their lives.

Definitely, Motivation is one of the most necessary qualities, since it can be considered as the fuel that makes us move day by day and want to improve ourselves or achieve our goals to be better people.

34. Tendency to set unrealizable goals

Some people watch helplessly as their goals never come to fruition no matter how hard they invest in achieving it. This is because often your set goals are unrealizable or very unrealistic.

In order to achieve everything we set out to do, it is important to set realistic goals that we can achieve and not goals that are too far away that are impossible to achieve.

35. Lack of concentration

Lack of concentration can be one of the weaknesses that most affect people who work in jobs that require full concentration and attention to achieve their goals.

Concentration is a quality that can be trained and whose deficit can be treated by professionals of all kinds, including psychologists specialized in increasing cognitive abilities determined.

36. Excessive worry about everything

Concern for the things that happen to us on a daily basis is common, especially if they are of great importance; nevertheless, some people tend to worry too much about everything and often about little or nothing important.

This excessive concern can waste our time and often contributes to spending a significant part of our resources to be aware of things that do not deserve our attention, to the detriment of those that do deserves.

37. fear of fear

Although fear is a biological survival mechanism that we all have, some people they feel afraid constantly and for everything, even if a situation does not objectively present any threat.

fear stops us, prevents us from advancing in the situation we want and sometimes deprives us of carrying out activities or carrying out projects that in normal situations we would be able to carry out.

38. Lack of imagination

Imagination is one of the most demanded qualities in the current job market, and a faculty that is also very useful in daily personal life.

People with little imagination are often incapable of achieving solutions to specific problems. and they usually have very limited resources when it comes to carrying out any action or project certain.

39. Lack of faith

We often associate faith with a religious phenomenon, but the truth is that many people have faith in themselves and their possibilities without professing any particular religion. Believing that one's goals are achievable and imagining alternative realities is a good example of how faith can be very useful to achieve personal or professional goals.

40. Lack of creativity

Creativity is one of the most demanded skills in the current labor market, even in the most analytical jobs and where a priori it should not be requested.

Creative people are able to imagine several possible solutions for the same problem.They are usually open-minded and have a high capacity to adapt to all kinds of adversities.