How to Use Your Superpowers (Yes, You Have Them)

Let me ask you one of my favorite questions: If you were a superhero, which superpower do you wish you had? Is it flying or mind reading? Telekenisis or teleportation? Traveling in time or freezing time?

There’s something extremely important I want to tell you. You do have superpowers. They are called gifts and talents, strengths and abilities. Don’t get all skeptical or negative. Remember to have an open mind and great things will start happening to you.

Quit thinking that talents are only about singing, painting or anything else connected with art. There’s so much more to this topic, than meets the eye. If you’d like to learn a little more about yourself, to increase your self-awareness, take the Gallup Strengthsfinder test. Its pretty substantial with 180 questions which will reveal your 5 talents or strengths.

However, even if you’re not a big fan of tests, there are other ways to figure out what gifts you possess. Here are a few ideas:

• Ask your friends and family, people who know you well. They will tell you, what you’re really great at.
• Ask yourself a question – what am I most passsionate about?
• There might be something you always secretly wanted to do and kind of thought you may be good at it. What is it? It could be one of your strengths.
• Remember what people usually thank you for. Which of your actions do they praise most of the time?
• What do you love doing so much that you lose track of time while being immersed into the activity?

Now, analyse all your answers and make a list of your strengths and talents. Here are some examples to help you with ideas: empathy, strategic thinking, sense of humor, helpfulness, analytical skills, discipline, organizer, encourager, design, cooking, gardening, problem solving, etc.

Use Your Superpowers

As soon as you have your list, it’s time to put it to action.

Choose one strength which you would like to focus on now. It could be something you really need in your current or future job. At the same time, it might be a talent which you always wanted to develop but never had time for it.

After choosing one strength to work on, make an action plan with specific, measurable and time-oriented steps which will help you take this strength on another level. You may want to make a little research. Look for books, podcasts, courses and videos on your topic. Learn as much as possible.

One of the best ways to develop your strength is to actually use it. Seek possibilities to apply your talent at work. Go to your boss and offer to participate in a project which complements your gifts. Start a project of your own on the side. Start a business.

Finally, I got an advice for you. Marcus Buckingham wrote a very practical book on this topic called ‘Put Your Strengths to Work’. It gives you several specific steps and tools on how to focus on your talents and start using them in life more. Check it out.

Now, I’d like to hear from you. Please, share one or two of your strengths and tell us how you apply them in your life and work.