We explain what strength is, what meanings it has and why it is considered a value. Also, its relationship with weaknesses.
What is fortress?
When we speak of strengths, we refer to those aspects of life and personality of an individual or of a organization that are considered positive, insofar as they allow overcoming obstacles, avoiding problems or overcome 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 intended 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 people resilient, who overcome difficulties or show a lot of endurance.
Strength as a value
The idea of strength as a personal and spiritual value comes from Christianity. In the theology Christian fortress was considered one of the virtues cardinal, that is, the four virtues that this religion inherited from classical thought (Plato) and that serve as the basis for the entire morality human: 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 possibility of overcoming one's own appetites and maintaining 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 be 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 where a person, organization, or system performs worse, takes more risks, performs worse, or falters 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.