Awaken Your Inner Superhero!

February 22, 2018

Have you seen the movie “Black Panther” yet? Since it was released last weekend, the film has already grossed over $235 million during the first weekend debut. According to media reports, It’s the fifth highest domestic opening weekend of all time, behind only the Star Wars, Jurassic World and Marvel’s The Avengers. Without spoiling the storyline, it’s the first superhero movie made up of predominately black actors and actresses. Like the Wonder Woman movie, Black Panther is proving to be a pop cultural phenomenon with theater goers donning cultural clothing such as Daishikis, a colorful garment worn in Africa. What fun! More importantly, young people will finally see superheroes that look like them on the big screen.

Superheroes always have fascinated both children and adults. The stories of heroes using their abilities to save the day and make the world a better place is something that inspires all of us. A few years ago, I took my nephews and niece to Six Flags and spent oodles of money on the admission, as well as food, etc. But the thing that excited them the most was the $8.00 superhero capes! Yep-those are my little superheroes in this week’s blog graphic!

In the real world, there are many superheroes. A superhero is just an ordinary person that finds the strength to persevere and endure in the wake of an adverse situation. They are average people like you and me that become the best in the worst of times.

Superhero actor Christopher Reeve once stated, “What makes a person a hero is not the power they have, but rather the wisdom and maturity they have to use the power wisely.”

So how can we awaken the superhero in our lives?

Know What We Can Do—Unleashing our superpowers starts with knowing who we are and what we can do. By understanding our strengths and weaknesses, we can better offer the world our unique gifts.

Take Responsibility for Your Gifts—Accountability is about the personal choices we make to overcome the obstacles in our way and exercise our full talent, gifts, and skills. Take every opportunity to put your personal superpowers to the test.

Prepare to Meet Some Adversaries–Every time we face a trying situation, we also face a choice of being a victim or a victor. Don’t allow yourself to be distracted by naysayers or fall prey to a host of excuses. Resistance is the necessary price of positive progress.

Don’t Be Too Quick to Judge Yourself or Others–Though we may feel and look ordinary to others, we all have within us some unique, extraordinary gift and skill that no other person on earth possesses. What you see is not always what you get. Take Clark Kent. Who would have guessed that behind those black-rimmed glasses was an ability to see through walls and across vast distances?

There’s a superhero in all of us, and we all possess the power to do great things. While we may not be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, we can confidently use our amazing super powers for the good that awaits us.