A superpower starts out as a characteristic. It’s something we notice about ourselves, a talent, something we like about ourselves, or something we do well. For example . . .
- Connecting with others
- Creativity
- Communication skills
- Speed
- Persistence
- Separate signal from noise
- Concentration
- Humor
- Adaptive
- Hand-eye coordination
- Storytelling
- Intuition
We turn these talents or attributes into powers when we bring focus and attention. Practice, lots of practice, turns talents into powers.
What makes a power a superpower is that you do it all the time and it’s valuable . . . to you and to others.
When I was a kid, the introduction to the Superman TV show was . . . “Faster than a speeding bullet. More powerful than a locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.”
If everyone were that fast and strong, nobody would notice or care. Leaping tall buildings would still be a power, just not especially super.
This brings us to the idea of “no matter what.”
I might be a great connector. My superpower could be getting people to tell me all sorts of things they didn’t think they would. But if I’m lazy and I do it only when I feel like it, I risk my superpowers just being powers and then just being something I do.
“I will be 100% present in every conversation” is a “no matter what” promise I can make to myself. A promise like this builds strength and purpose.
Power plus the promise of “no matter what” is truly super.