Becoming a superhero

SUPERHEROES. What’s so special about them? Let’s take Batman, who is commonly discussed for not really possessing any unique superpowers. At first glance, it looks as if he is a regular person who somehow also belongs with other superheroes for his accomplishments in their line of work.

What would happen if he started comparing his abilities and their superpowers? It would bring him lots of fears, insecurities, doubts, worry, and overall confusion, wouldn’t you agree? Wouldn’t that be the end for him? His whole view of himself would be distorted, and he wouldn’t be able to accomplish much. After all, he doesn’t have anything special in comparison to them, right?

Not quite, at least that’s not how he sees it, his power lies in his incredible mind, extraordinary courage, physical strength, and wealth. These qualities allow him to be in the same league as heroes who possess extraordinary abilities that they perceive as natural. Most importantly, not having any unique superpowers doesn’t upset or slow him down.

Instead, he (Batman) relies on his strength, persistence, courage, and willpower that makes him so incredibly good, if not the best.

Why do people have a tendency to compare themselves to others? Wouldn’t it be much wiser to compare ourselves only to ourselves? Comparing our yesterday’s selves to our today’s selves boosts self-esteem, builds strength and resilience, and lets us evaluate our weaknesses and shortcomings.

When comparing our current selves to our past selves, we gain emotional strength and build confidence because we simply tell our mind to accept ourselves in different forms at different stages of life and acknowledge what we have accomplished.

As we look inside and evaluate what we did a year or a month ago and how our thoughts, behaviors, and actions differ now, we welcome more awareness, acceptance, and confidence into our lives. We may also notice if we are in a standstill or going backwards from where we want to be which may be a beneficial wake-up call.

When we let our minds understand that through awareness, it works in the background to help us be more productive and achieve that desired outcome reached by someone we admire, but in our own unique way! By evaluating how we are moving along, we bring more purpose into our lives.

There is nothing wrong in being inspired by what someone else has achieved, but in reality, we don’t know what it took them to get where they are, what circumstances they had to face, and what they are really doing behind the scenes. Strong belief in himself also makes Batman one of the best superheroes, without unique superpowers!

Children have an amazing ability to identify with characters they like or admire. As we grow up, we lose that ability. Wouldn’t it be amazing if we could gain it back and learn to find superpowers in ourselves? Wouldn’t it also be cool if we become heroes of our own lives? What are the strong qualities that make you a hero or give you powers every day?