He found a teacher that agreed to lead him on this endeavor and together they trained. The teacher taught the boy one move and asked him to practice it day after day. Months went by and the teacher had still only taught the boy one move, so the boy practiced the same move over and over.
After several months of training, the teacher decided to enter his student in a Judo tournament so that he could get some experience in competition. The boy was puzzled and asked his teacher, "Shouldn't I learn more moves before I enter a tournament?" The teacher told him that it would be okay if the boy just tried his best.
During the tournament, the boy easily defeated his first few opponents. He was surprised, as most of the other competitors were older and more experienced, not to mention that they had both their arms. The boy continued his way through the tournament using his one move over and over until he made it to the final round. For the first time, the boy faced difficulty. His opponent was much larger and stronger than him and it was apparent that he was much more experienced. The two went at it round after round to a standstill and the boy was noticeably fatigued. During the break, the referees came to the teacher and asked if he would throw in the towel in fear that the boy would be injured if he continued. The teacher declined and told his student to keep trying his best. As soon as the next round started, the boy managed to catch his opponent off guard and threw him to the mat, winning the entire tournament.
On the drive home, the boy was elated, but confused. He asked his teacher, "How was I able to beat all of those other guys with only one move?" The teacher remained silent for a while and answered, "That move, the only known counter is to grab the left arm."
And thus, the boy's greatest weakness became his greatest strength.
___
Last year, I was diagnosed with something called cholinergic urticaria. Cholinergic urticaria is a disorder whose symptoms show the body experience an increase in temperature. The body becomes unbearably prickly from head to toe and it feels like a million angry wasps are stabbing you repeatedly. It got to the point where I would have to take off all my clothes and scratch all over to try and ease the discomfort.
Things that increase body temperature include:
Eating hot or spicy foods
Warm places/rooms
Physical exertion (including exercise)
Emotions - Anger, embarrassment, panic, etc.
The worst thing about Cholinergic Urticaria is that no one really knows what causes it and there is no cure.
I had to go through extreme measures to avoid my body warming up. At first, it seemed like all I could do was stay and home and lie in bed (without a blanket in fear of my body heating up). Over time I learned to avoid the things that triggered the cholinergic reaction. The hardest by far was controlling my emotions. Emotions are mostly a reflex and brought on by outsides stimuli. I had never been an angry person but even an emotion as mild as frustration or annoyance would trigger a painful ordeal. I tried so hard to control my emotions in the terror that I would experience another wave of hornet stings and in time, I learned to master them. I don't remember the last time I was angry or panicked.
Around the same time, I watched my performance in the stock market take off and never look back. Even to this day, I look at the positive things in life and it is almost impossible for anyone or anything to provoke me. I am a fiery and dynamic trader but I never have a flash of emotion that may affect my judgement. My cholinergic urticaria has diminished greatly to the point where I barely recognize it, but my temperament has remained the same. My greatest weakness forced me to develop my greatest strength. Looking towards the future, I hope that I can identify other traits about myself that may seem like weaknesses and find how they can be strengths.
-Still Broke
And thus, the boy's greatest weakness became his greatest strength.
___
Last year, I was diagnosed with something called cholinergic urticaria. Cholinergic urticaria is a disorder whose symptoms show the body experience an increase in temperature. The body becomes unbearably prickly from head to toe and it feels like a million angry wasps are stabbing you repeatedly. It got to the point where I would have to take off all my clothes and scratch all over to try and ease the discomfort.
Things that increase body temperature include:
Eating hot or spicy foods
Warm places/rooms
Physical exertion (including exercise)
Emotions - Anger, embarrassment, panic, etc.
The worst thing about Cholinergic Urticaria is that no one really knows what causes it and there is no cure.
I had to go through extreme measures to avoid my body warming up. At first, it seemed like all I could do was stay and home and lie in bed (without a blanket in fear of my body heating up). Over time I learned to avoid the things that triggered the cholinergic reaction. The hardest by far was controlling my emotions. Emotions are mostly a reflex and brought on by outsides stimuli. I had never been an angry person but even an emotion as mild as frustration or annoyance would trigger a painful ordeal. I tried so hard to control my emotions in the terror that I would experience another wave of hornet stings and in time, I learned to master them. I don't remember the last time I was angry or panicked.
-Still Broke
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