Unleashing Your Inner Superman (or Superwoman)

I walk around most days as Claire Kent -- my female version of Clark.  I go about my business, take care of things in my usual way, and most days are pretty good.  Claire Kent is a decent and well-equipped person with lots of problem-solving skills, resilience, and emotional competence.  There are days, of course, when my usual is challenged by the unusual.  There are days when a challenge looks me in the eye, and I don't know how to stare it down.  The usual approaches aren't working, and I need to find a phone booth.  Fast.

I emerge from the phone both in my cape.  It's me -- a stronger, more capable and more confident me. Superwoman has been unleashed.  In my cape, I stand up taller, square my shoulders, and think that anything is possible.  I can see the world from above, flying high, and it looks different from up there.  It's like I'm a kid again, seeing the possibilities, uninhibited by my failures and misgivings. My language, thoughts, and emotions are that of my superhero.  My cape liberates me from the every day limitations of my fears and negative thoughts.

 I Can Do It Attitude:  Changing my mind is often the hardest and most rewarded battle. Instead of feeling like I can't do it, I start to believe that I can. My "self-talk", the conversation going on inside of my head, goes from a place of negativity to a place of possibility.  Just like the Little Engine That Could, I believe in myself, which makes what seemed impossible, far more possible. A simple, "I can do this" changes my thinking and helps me see a way forward.

         The I Can Do It Attitude creates a new mood from which to move.

The World Looks Different From Above:  Flying high above the situation, I can see the moving parts in a new way. I become a new observer. As Chalmers Brothers calls it, "The Big Eye" and Judith Glaser calls it, "The Third Eye". I don't simply try some new actions, but I become a new observer of my situation. I ask myself some powerful questions:

• What am I seeing that I didn’t see before?
• Who are the players and what do they care about?
• If I move left, what might happen? If I move right…..
• What does success look like?
• How can I design success differently?
• Who is available to help me?
• Where do my strengths lie?
• What small move can I make?
• Any many more…

       Seeing the World from Above creates new language from which to move.

Power Pose:  With shift in my mood and perspective, I can embody my superhero and stand tall with chest open wide. It’s no coincidence that

Superman’s classic stance has him standing straight, looking upward. When you see him, you believe in his strength and abilities. When we stand in that pose, our breath is deeper and our heart is more efficient. We find calm and power. Stand up tall and wide and breathe in. Feel the power in that?

        Standing Tall and Wide creates a new body from which to move.

When the world throws something at you that just feels too impossible to tackle, know there’s a superhero inside waiting to come out.

I find my phone booth once again and change back into my fedora, walking around the world knowing my inner Superwoman is not far away.

Image:  "I am Superman", Helgi Halldórsson, Flickr