Today I’m bringing you a fun exercise!
This is for you if you’re keen to reflect on or delve deeper into what you really want, whether that’s from a professional or personal perspective.
The following question might seem silly, but there’s method in the madness:
If you could choose one superpower, what would it be?
If there was one capability that would delight, inspire or entertain you royally, what would you choose and why?
Would you have superhuman strength? The ability to shapeshift, time travel or heal others?
Or maybe invisibility, or telepathy or immortality appeals?
Most people have an immediate answer because it’s very much a gut feel thing (and something you’veprobably pondered on at some point in your life!)
Whatever you’d choose, grab a piece of paper and for the next five minutes scribble your responses to these prompts:
What does this superpower tell you about who you are and what’s important to you?
What does it suggest you might want more of?
And how might you bring more of this into your life in different ways?
The reason there’s more to this exercise than my personal penchant for superheroes is that trying to pin down what we really desire can often feel like a “hard” endeavour.
It quickly becomes serious business because a lot rides on it; namely our future happiness and fulfilment, but the weight of this can cause our imagination and creativity to shut down.
The result is that we lose access to our gut instinct about who we really are and what’s right for us, which leaves us staring down the proverbial blank piece of paper when asked “what do you really want?”
The superpower question provides a clever access point.
It opens up a form of self-enquiry that’s light and fun, which relaxes our logical left-brain for a moment and puts our creative right-brain in the driving seat.
This usually results in interesting and sometimes surprising insights that we know in our bones feel right.
So if you’re stuck on what you really want, or you’re curious about what else might show up for you, play along.
Go back to the question and prompts and give the exercise a go.
As an example of how it works (as well as a quick window into my soul!), I’d choose the ability to fly.
From a personal point of view, I love speed and adrenaline-fuelled activities, so zipping and dive-bombing around feels like huge fun!
But there’s also a deeper values-based connection for me, which relates to my strong need for and appreciation of freedom. I simply need to feel free in terms of the way I live, how I work and how I spend my spare time. This infiltrates everything I do, even down to what I wear and what colour my hair is this week.
I’m sure you might imagine how these requirements have shaped and continue to guide my life and work choices :-)
So, what does your superpower say about what you really need and want...?
Alison x
If you, or an aspiring or senior leader in your business, would like help conquering challenges like giving constructive feedback, building confidence, or maximising your potential, contact Souha Khairallah, Talent and Professional Development Director, PRCA at souha.khairallah@prca.org.uk, and ask for a no-strings consultation call with me.
I deliver structured coaching programmes that are tailored to the individual, helping people overcome barriers, capitalise on their innate strengths and realise their true potential.
About the author
Alison O’Leary is a certified life coach, specialised in career coaching through her practice, Live True. In a 20-year career she has held a number of senior management positions within the PR industry, most recently as Deputy Managing Director, Europe for Racepoint Global. Alison specialises in people development and combines insights, tools and methodologies from corporate and personal coaching work to help communications professionals realise their true potential for personal and organisational benefit. She partners with the PRCA to provide bespoke Senior Leader Coaching and Managing Performance to Improve Productivity Training. For more information contact souha.khairallah@prca.org.uk.