When I became disabled, I lost more than just my ability to walk. I lost a career I had spent years building. I lost a paycheck that supported my family of seven. I lost a sense of identity that was deeply tied to being a teacher and leader.
I remember sitting with my husband and telling him, “I’m not good at anything else.” At the time, I believed it. In order to build a business, though, I had to get over the idea that I wasn’t good at anything but teaching.
I didn’t lose were my strengths. I just had to find them again and learn how to use them in new ways.
This is the story of how I did that, and how you can too.
Understanding My Strengths in a New Light
Before my diagnosis, I was an educator, an avid weightlifter, and a runner. I prided myself on discipline, focus, and resilience. When a neuromuscular disease left me paralyzed, those strengths didn’t disappear. They just stopped showing up in the ways I had always counted on. I had to get to know myself again.
That required self-awareness. I asked myself what came naturally to me, even in this new body and life. I realized I still had a love of learning. I was still a strong communicator. I was still driven by service and helping others succeed. These personal strengths became the foundation for the next phase of my career.
Step 1: Reflect on Who You Were Before the Pivot
Goal: Identify core traits that were always a part of you even before disability changed your path.
Ask yourself:
- What roles or activities made me feel strong and capable?
- What did others come to me for help with?
- What gave me energy or made me feel “in flow”?
Write down 3 to 5 strengths you recognize from your past.
Step 2: Reframe Strengths in the Present
Goal: Reclaim those strengths and redefine how they show up in your life now.
Ask:
- Which of these traits still show up in my daily life, even in small ways?
- How have I used these strengths to adapt to or manage my disability?
Make a list titled “My Strengths in a New Light.” Don’t focus on how things used to be. Focus on how you’re showing up now.
Step 3: Use Strengths Assessments to Name and Validate
Goal: Use tools to name your natural strengths and compare them with your reflections.
Recommended assessments:
- CliftonStrengths (Gallup)
- VIA Character Strengths
- Optional: Myers-Briggs or personality test if it helps you identify tendencies
Highlight 3 to 5 “signature strengths” from your results that feel most authentic.
Step 4: Get Outside Perspective
Goal: Ask people you trust to reflect your strengths back to you.
Ask:
- What strengths do you see in me?
- When have you seen me at my best?
- What do you think I bring to a team or project?
Capture the top 3 strengths others mention. Notice patterns or overlap with your own reflections.
Step 5: Apply Your Strengths to a New Vision
Goal: Choose how you will use these strengths to build your next chapter—personally or professionally.
Try this structure:
- My top strengths are: [list]
- I want to use them to: [goal, project, business idea, daily action]
- One small step I can take this week is: [action]
Use your list to take one meaningful action based on your strengths.
Reclaiming Strength Through Mentorship and Community
I didn’t do this alone. I had mentors who encouraged me to believe in my ability to pivot. They saw value in what I could offer as a writer, even when I was unsure. When I was starting Connected Ghostwriting, I reached out to others in the industry. I asked questions. I learned from their paths. They helped me recognize that I had more to offer than I realized.
Mentorship continues to be one of the most powerful tools I know. Sometimes, other people can see our strengths more clearly than we can.
Functionality Doesn’t Define Your Worth
There was a time when I could barely move. I had to relearn how to walk three separate times. But even when I couldn’t stand on my own, I could still think strategically. I could still solve problems. I could still lead.
The workplace often defines people by their physical functionality. But that’s not the only way to measure contribution. I had to redefine success for myself. Running a six-figure agency from home, hiring a team of eight, and helping others tell their stories has shown me that my disability never took away my capacity to lead. It just changed the stage I stand on.
Building a Career That Matches My Strengths and Values
Now, I help other disabled professionals do the same. Through Journey to Success, we use a strengths-based approach to support people in building businesses that work with their medical needs and personal goals.
Whether it’s public speaking, copywriting, virtual assistance, or web design, we help people explore how their strengths show up now. Many have never taken the time for that kind of self-reflection, because traditional career paths rarely make space for it. But we do.
If you are reading this and wondering what your future holds, I want you to know this: your strengths are still there. You may have to dig deeper to find them. You may have to look at yourself through a new lens. But they are not gone.
Take the time to name your strengths. Ask for feedback from people you trust. Use tools like strengths assessments to help you along the way. Join a community of others who are navigating similar changes. And most of all, believe that you still have everything you need to build something meaningful.
