In June 1938, the first super-human character was created and debuted in the DC comic book: action comics #1. He was able to fly, see through walls, and pick up cars without even breaking a sweat. That character was Superman.
Since then, superman has become an iconic figure in American and western pop culture. Numerous books, TV shows, movies, and video games were created to depict his super natural strength and powers which enabled him to do amazing things for the benefit of himself and humanity at large.
I personally believe that every human being on the planet possess a unique combination of skills, talents, and abilities that can make them achieve super-human results if they can realize and execute the following 3 elements:
1) Realizing their special skills, talents and abilities.
2) Believing in themselves.
3) Nurturing their gifts while applying their passion and perseverance towards a predetermined goal.
Think about all the individuals who invented every type of item that humanity enjoys on a daily basis: The Airplane, Car, TV, Computer, Smart phone, Social Media and numerous others. These people didn’t have laser vision or the ability to fly, but they did have their 3 elements in place. As a result, they achieved super-human success which benefited both themselves and humanity at large.
Getting back to superman...his story would be boring if in addition to his strengths he didn’t posses a great weakness that he had to overcome while contending with the many challenges he faced. His weakness? Kryptonite.
To those unfamiliar with Superman’s story, Kryptonite were green crystals from his birth planet krypton. When he was in the presence of these crystals, he seemed to lose all his strength and superhuman powers. The only way to regain his strength and powers was to remove Kryptonite from his vicinity.
We all have our individual Kryptonite - the things that weaken our ability to be the best version of ourselves and maximize our potential. In our case it's not the shiny green crystals. It's the negative character traits that hinder us from realizing our maximum potential, close the doors of opportunity, and burn the bridges of relationships.
Take a look at the following list of negative traits:
1. Dishonest
2. Arrogant
3. Procrastinator
4. Indecisive
5. Greedy
6. Lazy
7. Manipulative
8. Jealous
9. Impulsive
10. Aggressive
11. Coward
12. Disrespectful
13. Impatient
14. Judgmental
15. Irresponsible
16. Lack empathy
17. Narcissistic
18. Rude
19. Selfish
20. Angry
21. Argumentative
22. Careless
23. Childish
24. Egocentric
25. Foolish
26. Forgetful
All of us, at one point of our life or another have been guilty of exhibiting most if not all of these traits which only makes us human. The question if we’re really honest with ourselves is; which of these traits are deeply embedded in our character and keep coming out on a fairly regular basis.
These traits are our kryptonite and therefore weaken and stop us from achieving our maximum potential. To overcome your Kryptonite, try the following introspection exercise:
Go to a quiet place, close your eyes and reflect back to every potential/actual opportunity that didn’t materialize or relationship that had gone bad through out your life. Can you spot a pattern of 4 of the negative traits listed above that had been present and reoccurring in all these situations?
By becoming aware of your Kryptonite, you’ll now be able to consciously and proactively work on yourself to eliminate these bad character traits from your daily actions and interactions. As a result you will get rid of your Kryptonite and alter your life’s trajectory.
Click here for a link to Introspection blog post.
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