Your Superpower

We needn’t desire the superpower to fly, be invisible, or read minds. We already possess the only superpower we need the ability to believe in ourselves.

-SL Taylor

Many discussions have come up between friends on a random Saturday night about which superpower you’d choose to have. I always went between being invisible or being able to fly. Both of those seemed like they’d be the most useful when it came to saving the world, the ultimate goal for anyone with superpowers, don’t you agree? But, these kind of superpowers aren’t ones that we can realistically achieve, just yet. There may come a day when we’ve evolved into super humans, but for now it’s a fun discussion.

Even though we’ve not achieved super human capabilities we do have an innate “superpower” of our own. Within each of us lies the power of believing in ourselves and our abilities, the power to expand our minds, the power to determine what motivates us and the power to control the controllable. But many of us never tap in to it. We go thorough life never even realizing this superpower exists.

It’s literally the superpower of self-determination. Self-determination is the ability to manage oneself, to be confident in your choices, and to exercise critical thinking. When you begin to tap into your superpower of self-determination, you see things from a whole new perspective. Belief in yourself and your abilities allows you to see past the negative, I can’t do it attitude, and embrace the idea that everything is doable.

Self Determination

Self-determination focuses on the “why” of motivation and behavior. Are you only motivated by outside sources such as money and fame? Or, are you motivated by internal forces of wanting to do and be the best you can, love what you do, and expand your areas of expertise?

If you find you’re only driven by outside sources, the decisions you make may not line up with your core values and you may never find the joy and fulfillment that you seek. Motivation through outside sources may lead to some otherwise bad decisions. If you’re strictly motivated by money, you may fall victim to scams, seek the easy buck, feel compelled to do whatever it takes legal or not to get money, or simply work yourself to death in job you despise because it pays well.

You most likely will also look for validation from outside sources. You’ll need to be told that you did a good job instead of knowing it for yourself. You’ll be easily persuaded, and you may also feel the need to constantly ask for praise.

But, if you’re motivated from within, you’ll seek to do things that bring you joy and a deep satisfaction that you were able to achieve your goals. You’ll make decisions that move you forward and allow you to control the controllable so you can deal with life’s inevitable setbacks and failures.

Self-determination empowers you find ways learn from your mistakes and failures and to turn those mistakes/failures around so they don’t become permanent setbacks. It gives you skills you need to succeed.

Your Superpower

The theory of self-determination comes from authors Deci and Ryan in their book Self-Determination and Intrinsic Motivation in Human Behavior. Based on the theory, the need to grow and expand is key to your behaviors. You have a innate need to ask why, and then seek out the answer. You see this behavior in any toddler. Why is the sky blue? Why do the birds sing? Why do I have to take a bath? Why can’t I eat dirt? And as adults we consider the harder why, why are we here. Why is the world falling apart? Why is there war?

Basic Needs

There are three key basic needs that must be met in order to achieve personal well-being.

1. Competence Competence: is fairly straight forward. Having the intellect, ability and strength needed to achieve success and the goals you set for yourself.
2. Relatedness Relatedness: is the ability to feel a sense of belonging within a family unit and social group. This is important because without a sense of belonging you’ll lack the support you need to achieve your goals.
3. Autonomy Autonomy: is the ability to control the controllable i.e. your attitude and your actions. When you have autonomy you are individually responsible for your own actions and the decisions you make.

When all three of these needs are met and nourished you’ve tapped into your superpower of self-determination. You begin to seek out ways to become the solution rather than contribute to the problem. As problem solvers you expand your knowledge and add to the greater good of humanity. Now isn’t that the goal of every superhero?

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