Do You Know & Use Your Superpowers? Tapping into our strengths brings more success & happiness

I was hanging out with a new friend a few days ago.  I don’t know her real well, so it was fun to learn about her and hear her story.  She was sharing that she’s really good at art and marketing, and she’s good at seeing what’s holding other people back and helping them overcome it.  

What I loved is that she called these her superpowers. Later, we were talking about another friend who is great at visualizing interior and clothing design. “That’s one of her superpowers.”  my new friend pointed out.

One of my husband’s superpowers is his mechanical ability. He can easily see how things come apart and go back together and what needs to be fixed. Talk about a handy person to have around the house!! Sometimes he has a hard time appreciating that most of us don’t share in this special talent because it comes naturally to him.

Identifying our own superpowers can be a challenge for many of us. Because they’re part of us, we fail to notice that other people don’t enjoy the same special talents we do. I think of friends who naturally excel at connecting other people, being organized, or staying focused. (All gifts I wish I had.)

But wait!  I do have my own superpowers! I remember the first time someone at work told me that they were impressed with how I was always so positive and had a can-do attitude. My reaction was to think, isn’t everyone that way?

The great news is that there are many tools out there to help us identify our special superpowers.  Here are some popular choices.

Tools to help identify your superpowers:

• Clifton Strengths Assessment – My top five strengths are maximizer, connectedness, input, positivity, and adaptability.
• VIA Character Strengths (free)- My top five strengths are honesty (authenticity), gratitude, hope, humility, and forgiveness.
• DiSC Personality Styles – I’m a strong “C,” which stand for conscientiousness.  Common traits are being humble, tactful, even-tempered, and accommodating.
• Myers-Briggs – I took this back in college and don’t remember my type.
• Colors Personality Types – True Colors is a popular version of using colors to categorize different personalities.  I’m a blue.

If you’re not sure of your superpowers, check out one of these tools and then reflect on how you can find more ways to use your special gifts. Research shows that this is a great way to be more successful and happier.

Tina Hallis, Ph.D., is a positivity speaker, trainer, and founder of The Positive Edge, a company dedicated to teaching organizations and individuals the power of positivity to improve the quality of people’s work lives and the quality of company cultures.