"Don't feel failure, fear not trying"

I'm not a big fan of doing bench presses. I've never really felt like I was good at it and it certainly wasn't my strong suit. After having one shoulder surgery and jacking the other shoulder up, I have not really been drawn to the idea of doing any kind of chest press. Then one day I found myself struggling with what I thought was a relatively lightweight (50lb dumbbells) became a little embarrassed. I found a weakness and that made me very uncomfortable. So I started working on strengthening my chest and shoulders because that weakness was not something I felt I could afford in my life and profession.
That was maybe two years ago and now, this past weekend I lifted more than I ever have (225lbs), and this includes High School when I was always working out.
From this recent success I draw two points.
First, attack your weaknesses. This is not my own thought but something I was told by a supervisor of mine. It is completely irrelevant for me though. I know that I like to do things that I'm good at because I like to succeed. I do like challenging myself however most of the challenges I take on I am already pretty confident that I will succeed. In areas where I feel that I suck in life, I'm hesitant to explore because I hate failing. Unfortunately failure is a part of growth, that is a fact of life. I cannot think that I'm growing stronger if I never addressed my weaknesses, that would be ignorance.
Point two is that success is rarely sudden. To be good at something and be a natural trait. To be successful, though, takes discipline, consistency, and old-fashioned struggle. Sometimes it takes pain and setbacks. Success requires never giving up because quitting is the only true failure.
This obviously is not just about getting physically stronger. This is mental, spiritual, and simply universal. I just needed that reminder that I shouldn't expect swift success and that to be the best I can be, I need to overcome my weaknesses. Maybe someone else needed that reminder too.