We explain what strength is, what meanings it has and why it is considered a value. Also, its relationship with weaknesses.
What is the fortress?
When we speak of strengths, we refer to those aspects of the life and personality of an individual or an organization that are considered positive, to the extent that they allow overcoming obstacles, avoiding problems or overcoming adverse situations.
The word fortress comes from the Provençal language fortalessa and this in turn from Latin fortis, which translates “strong”, “brave”. Hence, it is associated with resistant personalities, or even with buildings destined for military defense called forts, forts or, precisely, fortresses.
Thus, it is common to speak of strength of spirit, strength of character, emotional strength and other similar terms to describe resilient people, who overcome difficulties or show a lot of stamina.
Strength as a value
The idea of strength as a personal and spiritual value comes from Christianity. In Christian theology, fortitude was considered one of the cardinal virtues, that is to say, the four virtues that this religion inherited from classical thought (Plato) and that serve as the basis for all human morality: justice, temperance, prudence and fortitude. The latter was the ability to “overcome fear and flee from recklessness.”
This means that for Christianity, strength had to do with the ability to overcome your own appetites and keep your reason in moments of susceptibility to temptations.
A Christian endowed with strength will always seek the good constantly, exercising a firmness of character despite difficulties. Thanks to this virtue, the Christian can face fear and death, so that the will is guided by Christian reason.
In the modern West, this tradition has not been lost in the common imagination. For this reason, we still think that strength, that is, resilience and the ability to withstand external and internal storms, are one of the greatest virtues of the personality.
Strengths and weaknesses
Just as we are able to identify the strengths of a person, an organization or a system, that is, its positive points or in which it performs best, we can also do it with the exact opposite: the weaknesses.
Weaknesses are the aspects in which a person, organization or system performs worse, run more risks, perform worse, or falter more easily. Our own weaknesses are as much a part of our personality as our strengths, and only the knowledge of them allows us to tackle them in time or prevent situations in which we will expose our most vulnerable side.