“Sometimes Our Strengths Lie Beneath the Surface… Far Beneath, in Some Cases.”
— Moana, Disney (2016)
Disney films made for children have quite a way of saying the most human things. This quote from Moana is a gentle reminder that we all possess core capabilities, even when they haven’t yet found their moment to surface. It gave me hope, faith, and the steady confidence to believe in my strengths.
Our strengths show up as habits, instincts, natural ways of thinking, and character traits that make us relatively good at certain things over other things we do. And yet, we take them for granted. We pour more energy into fixing weaknesses and overlook the untapped capacity our strengths already carry.
Here’s a quick experiment: think of fifteen positive adjectives that describe you. How long did it take? And do you deliberately practise those qualities — or do you only notice them after the fact?
If you said you were persistent, warm, or honest — do you consciously bring persistence to a task, or do you only recognise it once you’ve persisted through something?
When you consciously access what already works within you, rather than leading from deficit, you work from resourceful states.
Want to uncover your strengths? Try this:
Sometimes strengths reveal themselves through lived experiences. Here are three simple questions to help you discover yours, especially when confused:
- Think of one activity that makes you happy, proud, or content — anytime. What skill or value are you drawing on when you do it? That quality is likely a strength hiding in plain sight.
- Which part of your body participates most in that activity? Your hands, your voice, your eyes, your instincts? Your body often knows your strengths before your mind catches up.
- Which sensory modality do you naturally lean into?
- Visual — you see, imagine, and think in pictures
- Auditory — you’re drawn to sound, tone, language, and conversation
- Kinesthetic — you feel, sense, and move through the world — body sensations, emotion, and physical awareness
- Olfactory — scent is a powerful anchor for your memories and experiences
- Gustatory — taste connects you to the world in a deeply sensory way
We experience and process the world through the above five channels, as they say in NLP.
And knowing your dominant channel helps you understand how you engage most naturally with life. Your answers to these three questions are a map. Find your treasure.
When you align your inner compass to your strengths and use them across different areas of life, you don’t just perform better — you live better. You give more, receive more, connect more deeply, and live with greater meaning.
The strengths beneath the surface are already yours. It’s time to bring them up.
To tap into your strengths to power your growth, contact us.
