Disadvantages Are Gifts
In The Obstacle is the Way, Ryan Holiday writes in the chapter In Praise of the Flank Attack about not coming at a problem, situation, or anything else directly but attacking it indirectly.
In this chapter, he refers to how “the advantage of size or strength or power is often the birthing ground for true and fatal weakness.” In essence, your greatest asset can work against you.
A paragraph before, he mentioned “Being outnumbered, coming from behind, being low on funds, these don’t have to be disadvantages. They can be gifts.”
Much of this is true to a great degree. I’m sure there are examples you can pick from history’s vault.
Underdogs exhibit this quality of using their disadvantages in the biggest moments to make a great impact.
A prime example was the New York Giants in the 2008 Super Bowl versus the New England Patriots, who came into the Super Bowl with an 18–0 record.
If they would’ve won, they would have been the first team since the 72 Dolphins to go undefeated. Yet, the opposite happened.
The Patriots were a high-powered offense led by the then 3x Super Bowl champion and now future hall of famer, Tom Brady. That season, he had a career-high and then NFL record 50 passing touchdowns.
Most of his touchdowns went to Hall of Fame wide receiver Randy Moss. Moss set the NFL record for receiving touchdowns in a season with 23. He broke Hall of Famer Jerry Rice’s record of 22 receiving touchdowns.
The New York Giants, on the other hand, were underdogs. They relied on defense and a great team effort. Eli Manning, their starting quarterback, made a decisive throw to David Tyree.
It was a play that left a lasting memory in people’s minds.
David Tyree’s catch led to Plaxxico Burress’s game-winning touchdown.
The Giants slowed down the Patriot’s powerful offense. That reliance on the passing game worked against the Patriots.
The point is that your greatest strength can be your greatest weakness. Don’t be so reliant on something that it works against you. The Giants used their strength to keep them in the game. That strength was their defense and team effort.
This team had a physical resemblance of being outnumbered given how few superstar-caliber players they had in contrast to the Patriots who had box-office talent.
As mentioned earlier, this disadvantage for the Giants was a gift. That didn’t matter. They used a collective team effort and defense to upset the Super Bowl favorites.
Here’s another example for you.
Let’s say you are a highly skilled shooter. Like Stephen Curry, good. You have a stretch of bad games, right? Your shooting has been reduced significantly. You are a one-trick pony. You are too dependent on shooting. You have been exposed.
There needs to be more than one skill set that you should rely on. You should consider strengthening the bolts on your weaknesses such as your post moves and driving to the basket.
When you face obstacles, your disadvantages can be used to propel you.
If you have a disadvantage, remember this is not a bad thing. The disadvantage forces you to be more creative. Remember obstacles are an opportunity for you to prove yourself.
