What Makes Us Irreplaceable

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This quote hit me like a deep breath I didn’t know I needed. It came from a reflection in one of my courses—Frankl’s Logotherapy—and reminded me of something I often forget:

That our imperfections, limitations, and life experiences aren’t barriers to meaning. They are the meaning.

What Makes Me… Me

I’ve lived most of my life with a quiet awareness of something I rarely speak about: I have dyslexia.
It’s subtle. It shows up more when I’m tired or under stress. But it’s been part of my story since elementary school—when I used to be pulled from class to get extra support.

I used to see it as a weakness.
Now I see it as part of the lens that makes me me.

A 2019 study showed that 35% of U.S. entrepreneurs are dyslexic.
Why? Because they see things differently.
They problem-solve differently.
They approach the puzzle of the world from multiple angles.

Reading that, I thought: Maybe that’s why I do what I do the way I do it.

I don’t just play “devil’s advocate.”
I consider all angles. I look at every side of the puzzle piece before trying to fit it into place. I question. I wonder. I empathize.

It’s not just a skill. It’s a survival tool that became a strength.

Uniqueness is Not Perfection

Our strengths aren’t just our talents.
They’re also our flaws, our pains, our lived contradictions.
For me, being the oldest child and raised like an only child, growing up with divorced parents, learning early to rely only on myself—those things shaped how I move through the world.

They’ve also shaped how I show up for others.

Because I’ve lived the loneliness of self-reliance, I now have the capacity to offer presence to others.
Because I know what it means to question your place in a system, I listen for what’s not said.
And because I’ve wrestled with trust, I bring radical honesty and deep congruence into my relationships and counseling work.

A Question for You

So now I ask you—gently and with curiosity:
What makes you irreplaceable?
What strengths have grown from your struggles?
What stories do you carry that no one else could tell?

If this reflection resonated, you’re not alone. I believe our stories—messy, layered, and unrepeatable—are where healing begins. That’s the heart of what I do in therapy: sit with you as you reclaim what’s always been yours.

 

Recommended Reading:

Frankl, V. E. (2006). Man's Search for Meaning. Beacon Press.

Pam Roy’s 21-day reflection journal on Frankl’s work is also a great companion for those wanting to explore meaning in their everyday lives.


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