As kids, we immerse ourselves in a world of magic, mystery and, superheroes and super powers. Fictional characters flow out of books and movies to fill our lives with imaginary goodness, probably starting with Santa Claus and continuing with Harry Potter and beyond.
Real world can look bleak in the face of all that magic.
Of course, at the end of the day it is us who choose how we want to perceive the world, the real world – magical or bleak. It seems simple, and I realise it’s more complex than that, but it is when we simplify things and look at the bigger picture that we empower ourselves to make better choices and that is because we can see the purpose or the outcomes we strive to achieve rather than getting lost in mundane details.
So where was I? Seeing the world as a magical or bleak place is a choice we make every day.
We love superheroes because of their super powers, the qualities and values they hold and make them so special and different.
You might be pleasantly surprised to learn that according to one of the frames of Neuro-Linguistic Programming, you can only see outside of yourself whatever is inside of yourself as well. It’s Karl Jung who first said that Perception is Projection, and therefore, the reason why you perceive and recognise the values and abilities superheroes have is because you also have the same values and abilities yourself, albeit they may seem to be hidden somewhere deep down.
So if you have these abilities, why aren’t you using them more often?
Well, you have been slowly and surely moulding yourself into the person you are today. While doing so, you strived to fit in, to belong, to obey, to be a good student and citizen, to listen to your parents and teachers, to acquire knowledge, to follow a faith, to build a career or a business and so forth. These are all good things, but following the status quo doesn’t only come with benefits, it also comes at a cost.
- Being a well-behaved kid (whatever that means to you) often comes at the cost of exploring less, and of becoming less curious and less adventurous – because being well-behaved inherently means being still and grownup-like
- Fitting in often comes at the cost of not being unique and authentic – because fitting in is safe and cozy, for yourself and for those dear to you
- Belonging to a certain group can empower you to develop and grow in some areas and disempower you to develop and grow in other areas.
- Choosing not to speak your mind to avoid upsetting someone else, means you are quietening your own voice and at some level acting against something you believe in.
The good news is that this process is reversible. Just as you adopted traits, behaviours and beliefs that got you this far, and they were the traits, behaviours and beliefs you adopted for good reasons and served you well, you can now adopt new ones, that enable you to live the kind of like you can imagine to be worthy of your superhero.
Using your superhero powers is a choice, and there are many ways you can decide to apply them to your daily existence.
- Firstly, you want to delete everything that holds you back in your life – limiting beliefs, negative emotions, ineffective strategies etc
- Secondly, you need to know what you want to achieve – set your goals, which are aligned with your purpose
- Thirdly, you want to identify the superpowers you need to use in order to achieve your goals and start applying them towards these goals – taking action, courage, perseverance, speaking up, being on purpose are some of them, and you know best what else to add to the list!
