Use This Reframing Strategy to Discover Your Hidden Superpowers

This trick helped me unleash what was inside all along.

Do you remember while growing up when people always commented on things that you’re good at?

Oh, she’s great at art why don’t you see some of her drawings, somebody would say. Parents, after all, love to show off their child. Their eyes light up with pride and happiness.

Do you also remember how people easily pointed out what you weren’t good at?

Did your math teacher tell you you’re not good at math? Did your coach tell you that you don’t have what it takes to be a great sports person? Did your parents call you lazy or other adjectives that definitely didn’t fill their eyes with pride?

Fast forward to today, what do you think about all the things you heard growing up?

They Conditioned You to Believe in Labels

In my own experience, I grew up to believe I’m lazy and I suck at math. I also concluded that I don’t have what it takes to be a high achiever because my grades sucked. According to psychology, there is a concept called self-fulfilling prophecies. Psychology Today describes it as,

A self-fulfilling prophecy occurs when our beliefs influence our behaviors. An example of this would be if we predict that we will fail at a certain task, such as giving a speech, and subsequently wind up stumbling through it. In such a situation, our belief seems to get the best of us, and we act in ways that affirm it.

These are concepts about yourself you believe to be true because that’s what you’ve always heard from others.

I labelled myself to be sub-average because I had traits of people who were sub-average, or so I was told. I tried to do my best for validation from getting placed into top universities to getting into companies that hold high brand value. So that maybe now I’m better than before.

But the void always stayed, because these self-fulfilling prophecies were a result of decades of conditioning me to believe something. Until I turned this around, and you can too.

Because They Aren’t So Bad

I won’t tell you to get rid of these labels because it's taken decades of effort by you and people around you to embed them in you in the first place. I’ll tell you to stay with them if you must.

What if you stopped perceiving these labels as your weakness?

I mean, being lazy and not being great at math and not getting good grades is one thing, but that’s not all. What if you think, “sure, I suck at this, big deal. I’m awesome at (enter skill).” Or, “I know I’m lazy, but I’m also (enter trait).” What if these aren’t things that hold you back but things that can take you to a better place?

Maybe you’ve been holding these labels as roadblocks to your road to success and fulfilment, but you don’t need to go towards that road, just take a different route. Instead of fighting with these labels and not moving on this journey, what if you just made them fellow riders in your car with earphones on so they’re busy and don’t bother you?

Where to Find Your Hidden Superpower

Here’s what I did, I accepted these things regardless of them being true or not and fetched for my strengths.

Sure, I suck at math. But I’ve been creative all my life from poetry and art in school to creating content throughout adolescence and adulthood. And for the longest time I’ve put myself down thinking anybody can write and my skill isn’t all that great, and I was halfway right. Anybody can write, but not everybody can write well.

I am lazy, which is why I prefer shutting away from all technology and working for an hour straight with a prime focus instead of multi-tasking and doing many things at a time.

If you see, both my so-called weaknesses help me do something else much better.

If you feel not being a people’s person is your weakness, maybe you shouldn’t perceive it as a weakness but just a trait you have. It doesn’t make you a weak person, because you’re probably great at being an individual contributor at work. If you feel you’re not confident enough and are working on it, while you’re at it, just know that the art your mind creates behind low eyes and closed mouths is so valuable that you don’t need to blabber about it to make it stand out.

Find That Awesomeness

You are everything you believe to be.

Sure, I could have told you to get rid of these labels and beliefs. But let’s be honest, it’s not easy. And people only change when they want to change. I can show you a path and not walk you there. Maybe hold your hand to encourage you because I have been where you are.

But just because getting rid of these labels isn’t easy doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do anything about them. Each problem can have several pathways to the same destination.

And like I told you, I’m lazy, so I chose the easier path which I can do right now while I continue working on my negative belief systems. Whatever you’ve been told and you feel about yourself, maybe that's true, and maybe that isn’t. But for now, you believe it is, so let's stay at that.

But that doesn’t need to sabotage anything, so don’t make it a hurdle on your way. Just think for a second about how this label makes you better at something else. Being inadequate at one thing could mean you’re extra awesome at something else. Sadly, sometimes we don’t even find this extra awesome thing because we’re so focused on what we lack.

Once you find this extra awesome thing, that's your superpower which was hidden all along.

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