There isn’t much more to say than that.
Why is that true?
I’m not sure but I think the clue is in the fact that this reveals itself with time.
What is the defense?
I’m not sure, but it isn’t a self-inflicted tall poppy strategy. Don’t deliberately deny yourself the gift you have.
I think the answer is first: don’t expect the vulnerability to come from the same place where your gift operates. If you write well, your life won’t blow up because of something you write. Lebron James will not risk his life blowing up because of his basketball talents.
It’s like the sink cost fallacy in a way. If you are losing money in a business remember that you don’t necessarily turn it around by staying the course and spending more money on the same strategies. You don’t make it back the same way you lost it.
The gift you have creates your biggest opportunities for vulnerability because it creates a void elsewhere in your life. And that void, which exists because of the disproportionate reliance on the gift, is your vulnerability.
The gift makes you choose one thing over another, favoring the gift. And that choice is what dooms you. Not the gift itself.
This is not to say that “emphasize your strengths and ignore your weaknesses” is a flawed aphorism. Rather it is to say that you should have the humility to see that you are creating more weaknesses.
The only antidote I can think of is humility. Constant awareness of humility.
The only way I know to keep awareness is to keep reminding myself (I’m doing that now, and the reading daily helps too) and through helping others. Quietly, anonymously, one-on-on.
An awareness of balance will help too. The universe is in balance. If I see x, then -x must also be true somewhere, somehow. If I see benefits, then what risks and I not seeing. Have the humility to know that you can’t see and understand it all.
I’m not sure how money fits into the equation. That’s still a piece I haven’t figured out. I can be like Mother Teresa, sure. But that’s not me. The polar opposite is a mono-focus on making money to the exclusion of all other concerns.
Hah. A paradox. Let’s leave it there. Good insights come when I find a paradox and live with it instead of trying to eliminate it. Plant a paradox seed and let it grow.