How to Turn Your Flaws Into Purpose (The Cracked Pot Story & Finding Your Strengths)

Do you feel like your flaws are holding you back from living your purpose?

In this episode of Brave Moves, Julie DeLucca-Collins shares the powerful story of the Cracked Pot and explores how your perceived weaknesses may actually be your greatest strengths.

If you’ve ever struggled with self-doubt, comparison, or feeling “not enough,” this episode will help you shift your mindset and see yourself through a new lens—one that allows growth, confidence, and purpose.

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

•  The meaning behind the Cracked Pot story 
•  How to reframe your flaws into strengths 
•  Why perfection is not required for success 
•  How your mindset shapes your confidence 
•  How to align your purpose with who you already are 

 Key Takeaway

Your flaws are not the problem.

 How you see them is.

This Episode Is For You If:

•  You struggle with self-doubt or feeling “not enough.” 
•  You compare yourself to others 
•  You feel like your weaknesses hold you back 
•  You want to build confidence and clarity 
•  You’re ready to embrace your full self

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

There was a guy that carried water in two large pots, and each hung at the end of a pole, which he carried across his neck. And one of the pots was cracked. And the other one was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master's house. And the crack pot arrived only half full. And for two years, this went on daily. And the bearer of the water delivered only one and a half pots of water to his master's house. And of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it was made to do. And after two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day at the stream. I'm ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you. And the bearer asked, Why? What are you ashamed of? And the pot replied, For these past two years, I am only to deliver only half of my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master's house. Because of my flaws, you don't get full value for your efforts. And the water bearer felt sorry for the old crackpot. And in his compassion, he said, As we return to the master's house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path. And as they went up the hill, the old crackpot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path. And this cheered it somewhat. But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load. And so again, it apologized to the bearer for its failure. And the bearer said to the pot, Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side? That's because I always known about your flaw and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path. And every day when we were coming back from the stream, you've watered them. For two years, I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers and decorate the master's table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beautiful flower vase to graze his house. And my friend, if that story made you pause even for a second, if you saw yourself in that crackpot, do me a favor, share this episode with another woman or cool dude who needs to hear this and make sure that you are subscribed as well, because this helps our little podcast continue to create an impact on the lives of others. And I would be eternally grateful because most people who are listening are probably not a subscriber. So I would love it if you did. Now stay with me to the end because I want to talk to you about something we rarely discuss in a real way. What if your flaws are something that you should not be fixing, but something to use? And I'm also going to give you a brave move to help you start seeing yourself differently, starting today. Now let's talk about this because most of us have been conditioned to believe our flaws are the problems. And we're told fix them, hide them, improve them, overcome them. And don't get me wrong, growth matters. And I am all for improving, overcoming challenges. And, you know, maybe I tend to hide sometimes when my imperfections are showing. And definitely I'm gonna make apologies when you come to my house and it's in disarray because that's what we've been conditioned to, right? But here's the truth: we don't sit with long enough. Not everything about you needs to be fixed. And some things just need to be reframed. You know, the crackpot saw failure. The water bearer saw purpose, and the pot believed I'm broken, I'm not enough, I'm failing. But the water bearer, he saw something else entirely. He didn't ignore the flaw, he didn't pretend it wasn't there. He worked with it. And because of that, something beautiful was created. You know, we're very quick to define ourselves by what is wrong? And think about how often you say, Oh my God, I'm so emotional. I overthinking, I'm not organized, I'm not consistent. And I hear this all the time from the women that I support. The first thing that I ask them typically when we start a conversation is, what are you celebrating? What are you proud of today? What do you feel has made you smile? And why do I ask that? Because we're always focusing on the negative. And that's really what our brain does. It's conditioned to do that. But maybe some of these things may be true. However, what if those same things are also the strengths that we hold tight, that we are designed with? Because too emotional can mean deeply empathetic. Someone who is an overthinker can mean they're thoughtful and aware. You know, my husband Dan, handsome hot husband, he is an overthinker. But he most of the time is always noticing things that I don't see and that could be easily ignored. But his sensitivity and overthinking creates the ability for me to see a different perspective. And again, you know, sometimes we think we're, I'm not traditional, but that may mean that you're creative, innovative. So think about all the things that you view as the cracks in your pot. Now, what I want you to think is that you don't need to erase your flaws. You need to edit your perspective. And this is where the shift is going to happen. Editing your purpose doesn't mean becoming somebody else. It means seeing yourself more clearly, not through the lens of criticism, but through the lens of possibility. I love that possibility. What is possible? And there are two ways to view your flaws. You can see them as limitations, or perhaps you can see them as tools, and you can say, This is why I can't, or you can reframe it and you can say and ask the right question. How can I do this? How can I use this? How can I? That one question changes everything because growth is not about perfection, it's about, you know what I'm gonna say, alignment. The goal is not to become flawless. We'll never be flawless, but the goal is to become aligned with who you are and how you're meant to show up. Because when you're aligned, you stop fighting yourself, you stop hiding, you start creating from a real place. And that's where confidence actually comes from, my friend. Now, here's the truth: the crackpot did not change, the perspective did, and that changed everything. So here's your brave move for today, friend. Identify one thing about yourself that you've labeled as a flaw, just one, and ask yourself, how could this actually be working for me? Not in a forced toxic positivity way, because you know, I want to be clear this is not toxic posity. This is just inquiry, curiosity. And when you are honest and curious, because your growth is not about rejecting yourself. You're when you're honest and curious, you are going to understand yourself. And my friend, you're not broken, you're not behind. You are not a problem to be solved. You are someone who has experiences and perspectives and many strengths and yes, imperfections, and all of it can be used. And of course, if you love this episode, remind yourself to stop trying to fix yourself and start building from where you actually are. And come join us in the confident you community. The information is in the show notes. And of course, if you also need support and you want to find out how to work with me, go to goconfidentlycoaching.com because all the information is there, in addition to all of my free resources for you, friend. And remember, this is where we are. We grow in real ways, we support each other, and we build confidence from truth, not perfection. You don't have to do this alone. You don't need to become perfect to become powerful. You just need to see yourself differently. And that's your brave move. Until tomorrow, remember I love you so much.