Superpowers squash shame
You Have a Superpower. I promise.
Your superpower is the essence of why you’re here in this world, a unique blend of character, life experiences, and beliefs. It’s what drives your purpose, something you refine with your skills and expand through your choices. Your superpower is yours alone, and that’s good news because you can’t “fail” at being yourself.
Being a Trailblazer
Being a trailblazer means embracing your weirdness, intensity, and uniqueness. I can’t name someone I admire who didn’t chart their own path with an new approach. Your superpower will rock the boat, challenge authority, and provoke change. It might be the very thing others have criticized you for in the past. Embracing your superpower can feel daunting because you operate under your own rules. This thing is that you also show yourself what’s possible.
Your Superpower Is a Beacon
Your superpower isn’t just about you. It’s a beacon for others, showing them the courage to be themselves. Hiding our brilliance maintains the status quo and keeps us stuck, but owning it unlocks limitless potential. People see you and wonder what could be different in their life.
My Superpower: Spotting the Patriarchy
From a young age, I could see how societal gender roles differed from my family’s dynamics. I recognized the patriarchy as a taught, followed, and imposed system. In reality, if my family followed the “rules,” we never would have paid bills or mowed the lawn. People often labeled me as “too much,” “different,” or “wrong,” and that criticism persisted into my adulthood – including just last week. When I believed those labels, I walked around as an apology. Now I interpret these opinions as data, reinforcing my truth: we all have a superpower that’s vital for the change needed in the world.
My superpower grew as I took courageous steps to earn a doctorate in women’s and gender studies, became a Fulbright Scholar, and trained as a strategic confidence coach. Today, it’s my non-negotiable. It’s my compass for decision-making. I partner with high-achieving women leaders to liberate themselves from limitations, reducing Imposter Syndrome, self-doubt, and exhaustion. The ripple effect of change starts with my clients and extends through their communities.
You Are Uniquely Powerful
I know the reality of my superpower in my core and nothing can stop me…except for myself. That’s why claiming my superpower is an inside job. It begins and ends with me. I used to think that I was uniquely f’d. Now I know that I am uniquely powerful. Your courage to be who you are ignites change.
Claim Your Superpower Today
If you doubt your superpower, if you’re nervous to claim it, or if you’re curious about its potential, remember this: you are uniquely powerful too. Of course, it feels scary to embrace your superpower because you will do things differently and you don’t have evidence (yet!) that it will work out. It’s normal to doubt ourselves. We all do and we’re in good company. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor once said, “I have spent my years since Princeton, what at law school and in my various professional jobs, not feeling completely a part of the worlds I inhabit. I am always looking over my shoulder wondering if I measure up.”
If you are ready to claim your superpower, here are three steps you can take today:
1. Prioritize time to reflect on your unique qualities, experiences, and beliefs that make up your superpower. Embrace them as part of what makes you extraordinary.
2. Set small goals for yourself that are aligned with your superpower. Want to speak up at a meeting? Plan it. Manage your mindset. Calm your nervous system. Find an accountability person. Say the thing even if your voice shakes and then mark that milestone.
3. Surround yourself with a team because we don’t have to go it alone. Get a coach. Reach out to trailblazing friends. Be your own best ally.