As a kid I had amazing superpowers.
For instance, I had no fear. I could do anything and I didn’t care what others thought.
When our allowance-fund was mismanaged (blown about 10 minutes after we got it) my brother and I would go door to door asking people if they had any returnable bottles they didn’t want to return. It never occurred to either of us that this couldn’t, rather, shouldn’t be done. But surprisingly, people did have bottles they weren’t going to return.
We would then carefully manoeuvre our wheels (the latest in wagon technology) to the nearest corner store to trade in our stash for hockey cards and Popeye cigarettes.
Of course our pack-a-day habit took its toll. Exposing innocent victims to second hand candy breath, sticky index and middle fingers and toxic metal cavity fillers were the price we paid.
In our defence however, there was little evidence to support the dangers of smoking candy cigarettes back then and even if there was, I am sure the Popeye Corporation would have come out stating there was no direct evidence linking its product to those side effects I described above. Such were the times, but I digress.
I also had the amazing ability to morph into anyone I wanted.
I could instantly transform into Batman in MacGyver-like fashion. A towel became a cape (think Batman with a cape that came down to the middle of his back), a skipping rope became a lasso type gizmo, and of course for speedy getaways I had the ever reliable Batmo-wagon.
There was nothing I couldn’t do.
But somewhere along the way my superpowers began to erode.
In grade 6 my superior intellect took a hit. I was transferred to grade 7, which meant I didn’t really pass, but was being moved ahead anyhow. I was no longer smart, in fact, I was one of the dumbest kids in the class.
Next on the hit-list was my artist ability. Suddenly my clouds were wrong. Shortly thereafter my breed of cow was anatomically flawed. She had 4 legs on her left side and none on her right. Apparently, there was no possible way she could remain upright.
And finally my ability to think creatively went out the window. It seemed my archnemisis, the critic, was everywhere. He had the ability to transform into anyone of either gender to tell me why I was wrong or why my idea was stupid and wouldn’t work.
So I settled into my life accepting that fact I was mistaken. I was not a superhero. I was just an average Joe destined for average things. And for about 30 years my averageness flourished. I was extraordinarily average. I was the king of average.
And then just as quickly as my powers had disappeared, suddenly new ones began to emerge. My humour, which I always downplayed, now seemed to be a tool that could really impact those I came in contact with. My artistic ability now took on a new light as I created my own rules of what great art should look like. And my ideas were no longer stupid. They did have a place in the world even if others didn’t realize this yet.
And my arch-nemesis, The Critic, no longer wielded any power. Oh he still heckles me. Sometimes he shows up in a friend who doesn’t get what I am doing and questions my sanity. Sometimes he shows up as an anonymous online comment condemning something I have said. Sometimes he appears with a whole bunch of his buddies (the current majority) who try to impose an outdated way of thinking on me.
But The Critic and I tangle less and less with each passing day. I am now stronger than he is. As I continue to bring my ideas to the world, my superpowers have continued to flourish. And the more I share the stronger they become. And new ones have now emerged, feeding off the others I have unleashed on the world.
So what does this mean for you?
Long ago you were pounded into submission by “The Critic” and you abandoned your powers. But the truth is you have incredible abilities-SUPERPOWERS- that lurk inside, desperately hoping you will unleash them on the world and crush that critic that once bullied you relentlessly.
Quit suppressing them. Superpowers exist to all those who are willing to step up and reclaim them. They are uniquely specific to you. A dash of this, a pinch of that, sprinkled with the courage to unleash that inner superhero.
The question is, are you willing to set your superpowers free and be the superhero you are destined to be? You just might save the world doing so.
To an idea worth quitting,
Dean
ps…Do you know a prematurely retired superhero who needs to come out of retirement. Why not forward this to them and help us fill the void-SUPERHEROES WANTED.
