Kay:
Hey Questers and welcome back. It’s Thursday, January 7th and this is episode 264. I want to call it Thinkific Thursday or something because we’re bringing a Disney quote to you. And it might just be too much of a stretch….
Shi:
Well, this quote makes it a terrific Thursday that’s for sure and today’s quote comes from one of our modern-day favorites Moana who tells us, “Sometimes our strengths lie far beneath the surface…”
Kay:
“Far beneath,” as she says in the movie. Now, this is an inspirational quote that Moana says kindly as she is attempting to explain that her chicken still has brains even though he is continuing to peck at a rock.
Shi:
That he should not be cooked over the fire and that he is in fact, her friend, and her pet. So, it is said in jest in the movie, but it is still dang good advice and it certainly gives us a chance to talk about how good this movie is. You guys if you have not seen Moana even if you do not have kids, or nieces, or nephews, worth the watch. The colors of the animation, the dialogue…
Kay:
The songs.
Shi:
The Rock is the main guy character so that’s so good and then the songs.
Kay:
I mean, Lin Manuel Miranda, he’s amazing.
Shi:
You guys probably know our Hamilton obsession, which of course is Lin Manuel Miranda, and he is the composer and some of the singers here in this movie. You can tell because it’s catchy, it’s fun, it’s lyrical, it’s wordy, it’s surprising. It’s just all of the things. So, big endorsement energy for Moana. Go watch it if you haven’t and if you have, you know exactly what we’re talking about. So, that brings us back to our quote here, “Sometimes our strengths lie beneath the surface…”
Kay:
Well, Moana is an around 16-ish-year-old daughter of the chief. So, princess of a Hawaiian village or Polynesian and she is just plucky and really adventurous and brave and decides to leave her home. But I think that sometimes, “our strengths lie beneath the surface,” applies for her in the movie to herself too. Because when she’s starting off on this journey, she has grown up on this Island her entire life on the isle of Motunui. She’s never been outside the reef and she has to dig beneath the surface to find an inert strength within her which was a strength that she ended up having for the art of sailing, “wayfinding” as they call it in the movie. But it was about digging deep in order to find that strength. Chances are, if you’re a human being, you’ve had to dig deep before too and you may have uncovered some things that you weren’t sure about before.
Shi:
What I like about this quote is that also the reflection of it then comes to light as well. Sometimes our weaknesses lie above the surface. Sometimes you can see your weaknesses and others can see them on display too and that can be tough especially if you’re only looking at someone’s highlight reel on social media. Of course, the overused example there. I know when my weaknesses come to the forefront and others witnessed my mistakes or my inabilities or my misgivings. That can be really hard to navigate and you almost wish that those weaknesses were a little bit more beneath the surface than sometimes they tend to be.
Kay:
Yes, well be it your weaknesses being above the surface or your strengths being beneath the surface sometimes it just takes a little bit of dimensionality to understand that you’re human with both. So, if you’re maybe the kind of person, if you’re listening to this podcast, you’re likely an achiever. So, you likely suffer from achiever syndrome which is also known to many of my ladies out there as perfectionism. If you are someone who considers yourself a perfectionist it can be a little bit difficult to even admit that, that weakness might be above the surface. It can be even more difficult to understand that there might be even more strengths beneath the surface that could uncover if you let go of the idea of needing to be perfect.
Shi:
You know there were a few times in my education that I can remember examples of things that maybe aren’t relevant to our planet or humanity that either at one time was or are or used to be or that don’t exist. So, if you have the enzyme that doesn’t digest milk, you’re lactose intolerant. You have to make certain accommodations in your life in order to help you get through with that. But if you’re lacking an enzyme that doesn’t digest some moon rock dust that we have no idea about, and it’s not present on earth that never comes to pass. That’s not seen as a strength or a weakness, you just don’t even know about it. So, sometimes if you’re in an environment that is bringing those weaknesses to your surface more often than you might like, it might be time to consider putting yourself in a different environment so that no longer becomes an issue. Just like that enzyme missing from your stomach, one of those aha moments for me that kind of translates to this.
Kay:
So, are you allergic to moon dust? That is the moral of the story here on Thursday, January 7th. But as Moana says, “Sometimes our strengths lie beneath the surface.” As we’ve expanded, sometimes all you have to do is dig in a little to uncover them – which means we’ve got a Strengths Quest for you today.
Shi:
Alright, gang, take 15 minutes for a strength and self-esteem exercise. We want you to really dig deep and write down five of your greatest strengths in the next 15 minutes. Come on. You can do it. You’ve got the time. Get five strengths down. If you can’t think of five go even deeper. What strengths might you be overlooking that is there beneath the surface? Your role as a mom, a mentor, a meaningful supporter, or a friend. We know you’ve got five and your job is to list them out right now. Are you ready?
Kay & Shi:
Let’s quest!
