There’s just hard work. At a recent meeting, as an icebreaker, attendees were asked to “state their superpower.” I played along (I said mine was irony), but what I wanted to say was “there are no superpowers.”
When somebody is exceptionally good at something, it’s tempting to attribute that to extraordinary talent. While that might play a role, Calvin Coolidge once observed that there’s nothing more common than unsuccessful people with talent, and that there’s no substitute for persistence and hard work.
One hallmark of being particularly good at something is making it look effortless. This undoubtably applies to my field of qualitative research. To observers and research participants, outstanding researchers appear to be engaging in nothing more than nice, relaxed, shmoozy conversations.
They don’t see the intense focus, the hours of preparation, the commitment to professional development, and the years of experience that go into what looks like a walk in the park. So, the real superpower isn’t a superpower at all – it’s knowing how to work hard, persevere and make it look easy.
The idea of ‘superpowers’ has always made me uncomfortable. Our words shape our thoughts, and I can’t help feeling this is an unhealthy way to think about ourselves and our abilities. Why?
It’s superficial. Describing strengths as ‘superpowers’ is a lazy way to represent exceptional abilities and doesn’t prompt deeper reflection.
It’s self-mythologizing. Seeing yourself in some sort of fantasy context can lead to an inflated – even narcissistic – sense of your own abilities.
It’s the idea that skill equals magic. The notion that some people are ‘just gifted’ excuses us from making the effort to develop exceptional skills.
It overemphasizes the value of natural talent. As Silent Cal observed, talent alone isn’t enough to drive success.
It undermines accountability. Believing you have superhuman abilities can lead to delusions of grandeur, poor decision-making, and a disregard for consequences.
It promotes what psychologists call a ‘fixed mindset.’ That’s the idea that people’s abilities are unchangeable, closing us off to the possibility of developing new strengths.
It puts you under tremendous pressure. If you see yourself as having superhuman abilities, you might feel a need to be perfect. This could lead to being unwilling to take risks or make mistakes.
Extraordinary abilities are earned, not bestowed. People with apparent ‘superpowers’ have spent a lot of time, effort and resources learning to do what they do. They have dedicated themselves to excellence, have made mistakes along the way, and learned from those mistakes. While Thomas Edison may not have actually said that genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration, the sentiment remains valid.
So, if you’re wondering what your superpower is, or why you don’t seem to have one, think again. There are no superpowers. There’s just effort and commitment.
There’s just hard work. At a recent meeting, as an icebreaker, attendees were asked to “state their superpower.” I played along (I said mine was irony), but what I wanted to say was “there are no superpowers.”