What's your superpower?
On Friday, I shared that one of my special talents is the ability to kill even an air plant. Ha.
In the comments on that post, some people were discussing their superpowers, and Kristin-with-an-i (who has serious cooking superpowers!) said,
Hey Kristen-with-an-E: Here’s an interesting idea for an audience participation post: Invite everyone to share what they consider their own super power(s)–this will require people to not feel like they’re bragging!–and then what they admire in other people. I would love to see what everyone comes up with.
Some other people chimed in saying that was a good idea, so here we are.
I thought of some tongue-in-cheek superpowers that I have in addition to my air-plant-killing skills:
- dropping my phone (this is why I always, always have an Otterbox case and screen protector!)
- running into the dishwasher when the door is open even though the dishwasher has never moved locations
- making careless mistakes because I am going too fast
- sitting in 37 different positions during a one-hour lecture (I admire people who can sit still!)
- trying to solve all of my problems when I wake up at 2:30 am
- forgetting passwords
- immediately forgetting numbers (thank heavens the glucometers at work save the blood sugar numbers because heaven knows I cannot be depended on to remember.)
I do have some actually-useful superpowers too, though. 😉 And I think a lot of them come together to make the blogging life work for me.
Useful Superpowers (for a frugal blogger)
Steady Plodding
I am really good at putting my head down and doing things faithfully and consistently. Which is why I'm still blogging here after 16 years.
This is also a useful superpower when it comes to other things like: going to school, working out, cooking, packing lunches, learning a language, practicing an instrument, and so on.
Using Up Random Food
I was not born with this superpower; I developed it over the years of blogging!
If you're new here: I originally started blogging because I wanted accountability about my food waste, so it's been an integral part of my blogging journey.
Friendliness
Ever since I was in my teens, I have had no difficulty striking up a conversation with almost anyone, anywhere. I can make small talk with a variety of people on a wide range of topics, and I enjoy it because I think it is fascinating to learn about people.
This is a very convenient superpower at the hospital because every shift, I am getting to know at least 6-7 new patients, and "establish rapport" is an important soft skill to have.
I feel endlessly grateful that this is part of my personality because I honestly do not find the social aspect of my job to be draining.
I love making friends with people at school as well, and I think my friendliness helps with blogging; it's a little different online than in person, but I think we have a pretty friendly vibe going around here.
Noticing (and appreciating) beauty in the ordinary
I think this one is a superpower that I developed because of my interest in photography. Taking pictures makes me see the world with more observant eyes.
The noticing superpower is what helps me see beautiful things even in the dead of winter.
Seeing potential in old and broken things
I can often envision how to fix something broken or rehab something old/ugly.
And that is definitely a useful skill for a frugal blogger!
Always thinking, "How could I get this cheaper?"
I think this is rather innate because it's almost an automatic reaction to anything I face in life.
I think, "Could I borrow this? Buy it used? Get it on sale? Make it myself? Use a discount code?"
Honorable Mentions
All of the above superpowers do help with blogging but these next two don't really.
I read super fast
I have always been able to read at a fast clip and I think that's just the way I'm hard-wired; it's no credit to me.
I usually know what direction I'm facing
I don't think about it logically (meaning, I don't think, "Oh, the sun is over there, so we must be facing east"); there is just some sort of innate sense I have that tells me what direction I'm facing.
I don't know how this happens in my brain, but I can tell you that I have been this way since I was a kid.
For example, we visited an aunt and uncle in Kentucky once when I was in grade school, and I can tell you that their house faced south even though I had no way of knowing that at the time.
Soooo, tell us....what are your superpowers?
You can share useful ones, of course, but if you have any not-useful ones (like me running into the dishwasher door!), feel free to share those too. 😉
And as Kristin-with-an-I said, we're not gonna think you're bragging. It is ok to acknowledge what you are actually-factually good at! We all are a mixture of strengths and weaknesses, and I think it's healthy to be able to see both of those in ourselves. 🙂
My superpower is that I am very organized. I don’t have any messy “junk drawers” & love it when people ask me to help clean out cabinetry, a pantry, etc. I see chaos & can immediately formulate a plan. And my anti-super power is that I am usually lost. It doesn’t bother me. I factor in time for it to happen & I always end up found. When my kids were little, invariably, one would pipe up with a “Mommy, are we lost?” “Yes. Yes, we are.” GPS is such a gift. I now turn it on to go to people’s houses even when I know where they live. It’s my little electronic security blanket!
@Diane,
Lol, your "getting lost" superpower reminded me of my dad. When I was a kid and then a teen, we would take family day trips, say, to the local flea market or similar. My dad loved to drive, and on the way home, it was not unusual for him to take some unknown way "home". (This was in pre-GPS days). Sooner or later, one of us would ask Dad, "are we lost?" - to which he would reply, "yes, but we're making great time". 🙂
@Liz B., I love that answer!!!!
I currently have a huge bruise on my leg from my dishwasher door! I felt that one.
I have almost perfect pitch. Like if you ask me to hum an A flat I just sort of hear it in my head. However, I only have a passable for choir singing voice (not a soloist) so this skill hasn't really monetized into anything haha.
@SK in Norway (and everyone else), I'm finding this topic so much fun--and there's so much overlap between my superpowers (and anti-superpowers) and other commenters'--that I'm just going to work my way down the list and note the overlaps. First, the dishwasher door thing: I do that, and I also whack my shins regularly on the Honda Element's trailer hitch. I'd take the @#$% trailer hitch off if not for the fact that one person who occasionally borrows the Element uses it to haul a trailer.
@A. Marie, DH had a trailer hitch on the car I drove for a while, and once I was getting a big box of books out of the trunk to donate at the library, while my kids merrily trotted to the door...I forgot the hitch was there, turned and tripped spectacularly over the hitch, and thanks to the big box in my hands, fell splat on my knees. Thank goodness I always keep a first aid kit in my backpack...I just told the kids to go on inside while I patched myself up in the bathroom.
@SK in Norway,
Having perfect pitch is truly a gift. I love music however I cannot carry a tune at all. So I sing out loud in the shower and in the car I sing when I’m cleaning house all in private. I don’t wanna hurt anyone’s ears.
@SK in Norway I would love to know how to sing . I am almost deaf but dream often of singing in harmony with others. My husband has a extremely deep baritone voice and sing a lot( a low sound I hear better)
@SK in Norway, I find your gift of perfect pitch miraculous. I once babysat for my music professor in college. When I arrived, he was sitting in his easy chair with his feet propped up leisurely reading a musical score. Like you, he heard the music in his head, no orchestra needed. Four decades later, I am still amazed at that.
If I have the starting note, I can go from there and read music in my head like that. But I cannot generally just pick a note out of thin air and have it be accurate!
@A. Marie, dod you hear me yell OUCH!! The trailer hitch has not been my knees friend for a long time. I can't remember how many times I would crack myself & the tears start down my face because of the intense pain. More than once that hitch got dropped right onto the ground with blood on it.
@Bee,
Same here. I can *maybe* carry a tune in a bucket. Ha. When my son was younger, like maybe 5 or 6 years old, whenever I sang along with a favorite song, he would ask "please stop, Mama". He still gives me side-eye at age 14 when I sing, except now I do it on purpose to "annoy" him. 🙂
When I suggested to my husband that maybe I could take vocal lessons at our local School of Rock, where son and DH take drum and bass guitar lessons respectively, he gently suggested I stick with photography. Okay, okay. :-0
@A. Marie, that is too funny. i can't bang my knee into the dishwasher cause the dishwasher is me.
My superpower is finding things. No matter where my family loses something in the house, I will eventually track it down. Sometimes I just need to walk into a room, and the object seems to appear for someone else.
I am very good at explaining math to others and can read extremely fast.
I also run into tables and cabinets with alarming accuracy, and trip over my own feet regularly.
@mbmom11, my 13 yr old son is a bloodhound. whatever we lose he finds in minutes. practically from when he was in diapers.
@mbmom11, I too am good at finding things!!!
I am a super fast reader and an excellent writer. I read and write constantly; I especially enjoy creative writing but I can also write for academia and short articles. I am not an 'official' writer yet but I'm on my way.
This creativity extends to my own life; I think outside the box and don't always see things in a 'linear' way (although I can, if I need to). I usually plan things in a loose way. I am not someone who enjoys being busy and overscheduled, which some would argue is not a superpower, but I believe it is, because I know when to rest and tune into myself.
My unfortunate superpower - zero sense of direction. I can get lost in a straight line.
@Sophie in Denmark, I forgot to add that I am also very adventurous and think nothing of doing things alone, such as going on vacation or visiting somewhere.
@Sophie in Denmark, I too am "a super fast reader and an excellent writer," as well as a top-notch editor. As I noted in a comment not long ago, my job title in my working days was "copyeditor," but I usually went well over the line into developmental editing because I routinely got handed the worst mss.
I'm also another one who doesn't like being overscheduled. As I once put it in editorial terms to a friend, "I like a lot of white space in my life."
@Sophie in Denmark, I think outside of the box as well. I've been told I can help solve "unsolvable problems". Because of this, when I jump around on an agenda because the connections make sense to me, it drives others in the meeting a little crazy, so I try to be more linear then and move from one item to the next.
@A. Marie, I think overscheduling adds a great deal of stress to life. If something goes wrong, you have a little wiggle room. I think this is also true of procrastination. I married a procrastinator and this is sometimes hard for me.
@A. Marie,
I love your white space comment! May I please plagiarize it and quote it in my own life? I, too, hate being overscheduled -- it is too overwhelming for me!
@A. Marie, 'white space in life' is a great way to put it!
I forgot to say before that I don't get stressed speaking in front of crowds. It's not my favourite thing to do but I'm confident enough with it that it doesn't faze me.
@Fru-gal Lisa, I consider everything I post here to be in the public domain, so don't think of it as "plagiarizing."
@Sophie in Denmark, I find it remarkable that you are willing to go on adventures alone with your zero sense of direction!
@Central Calif. Artist Jana, I can usually find my way with my phone or I ask someone. I also like the chance to strike up conversation with new people 🙂
@Bee, If one calls it "overscheduling" then it's definitely more than one wants. Obvs different folks have different levels. My dad's schedule would about kill me right now but not only do we have different preferences, we have different obligations as well. Likely when my obligations ease, my preferences will change as well.
@WilliamB, personally, I just prefer having very little on my schedule in general!
Like Diane, my strength lies in organizational skills. When our kids were young, those skills helped enormously in the planning and execution of PTA events. In midlife, I was the one who organized the annual family picnic for my mom's big Italian family. Now, in retirement, they're a critical component of trip planning. (This fall we came off a four month, 20,000+ mile RV trip to Alaska.) I also have an affinity for numbers. (For some reason, I can recall employee numbers from my banking days 40 years ago - I was #100! - but I can't remember to stop for milk unless it's written down.)
The numbers thing not only helps in trip planning, but also in quick calculations in the grocery store, tracking expenses and planning investments. And, honestly, this still feels like bragging, but I pushed past the discomfort. Only for you, Kristen, only for you.
@Mary ~ Reflections Around the Campfire, It does feel like bragging, BUT....just like the thankful exercises, couldn't this be extremely useful in life? If we force ourselves to acknowledge our strong points, then it just might make us think about how we can live in a more productive/happy/whatever good sort of way using our superpowers.
And it's not bragging to simply acknowledge a truth. Why do we think it's fine to tell others about something we are bad at but not something we are good at? Both are reflections of truth and reality.
It is true both that I used to waste a lot of food, but that now I am good at using up odds and ends. 🙂
It's sort of like I say about finding the good in life; if we want to represent things truthfully, we will acknowledge both the good and the not-so-good.
@Jody S., I agree too! I think we need to acknowledge our strengths more, maybe it will inspire us to use them to help others even more!
@Mary ~ Reflections Around the Campfire,
I think it’s ok not to want to superpower. Peter Parker didn’t want to be Spider-Man and Linus said “there’s no heavier burden than a great potential”
Hollywood made a lot of money on the problems of superpowers
@MommaJo, we are told so often in media and daily life about how we are lacking ( that sell) . But I love all those post where people are telling theirs strong points . It also touches me emotionally to hear others about their prides.
@Mary ~ Reflections Around the Campfire, I wouldn't call it bragging. Every weakness is a strength and every strength can be a weakness - the trick is seeing it in ourselves. For example, I am very creative and imaginative, but can struggle with organisation and busy periods in my life. I know this about myself and am grateful to others who do have that strength, whilst still being grateful for my own strength they may not have.
@Mary ~ Reflections Around the Campfire, I too struggle with openly speaking about things that I am good at. I was raised in the south long before self-confidence was considered a virtue. I'm so glad you pushed through the discomfort.
@Mary ~ Reflections Around the Campfire, i am so glad you did and it was a very interesting read. thank you.
@Book Club Elaine, Ah, that's an interesting point. In my case, since I don't lack self-confidence, I think the aversion to bragging is a by-product of the religion in which I was raised.
Yes, I understand this completely. It's this sense that you have to almost pretend that you are not actually good at something, even though you are, and if someone does compliment you, you are obligated to brush it off, respond with a self-criticism, or give someone else credit for what you did.
Outside of my hands--which do fine detail work for a living--I have no coordination whatsoever. I'll walk into walls in our house, clock myself on the open hood or trunk of my car, cupboard doors, etc. Mystery bruises are a fact of life. My husband doesn't know how I made it to adulthood, and frankly, I'm not sure, either!
I'm also so right-brained that it's almost a hindrance. When anyone compliments my ability to keep track of my husband's medical miscellany (paperwork, doctors, etc.), household goings on, etc., I point out that it takes WORK, as I'm not a linear thinker. This has resulted in things getting done in roundabout ways and also learning to stop and evaluate what needs done vs. jumping in and hoping for the best. I often joke with my husband that one of my many possible epitaphs (along with "That was funnier in my head") is "Doing things the hard way since [birth year]."
Related to the above, I'm willing to give almost anything a try and love learning new topics and skills--hello, re-glazing our windows myself next spring! Non-linear thinking also helps me gamify challenges or unpleasant tasks to ensure that they are still dealt with. This is a great frugal asset to have, as it saves grocery store runs, tight months, and leads to reflexively thinking outside the box.
@N, )And I thought it was just me who lacked basic coordination. If there is a way to bump into something, I'll do it without hesitation even if I'm being careful. I also have no sense of space, which is the main reason I never learned to drive (after several driving lessons including one in a parking lot with only one other car, that I managed to hit! ). I was too afraid I'd hit other cars and people and the idea of trying to parallel park? OMG. I have to measure everything twice on DIY projects because I truly don't have a sense of spatial relationships. (I move around and hit things all the time believing I have far more space to maneuver than I clearly don't.)
And if there is a way to knock something over, I'll be doing it, even, again, if I'm being super careful. (I wonder is this is some sort of health flaw?)
I was fascinated by K's super power of always knowing what direction she's in. Wow. That is something else. I can't even read a compass.
And as a "word person" I am amazed at how poorly I generally do with the NYTimes crossword. To my credit, I do well on the mini and also on the wonderful Connections challenge (I do well and I fail miserably, about 70 / 30. But I so love it.)
@Irena, my husband has always called me “gracefully clumsy”. He tells me he knows where in the house I am by the sounds I make running into things. 🙂
@Irena, I'm great at the NYT puzzle, and only got to that superpower after lots and lots of puzzles. I often stink at the Friday one but LOVE the Saturday one. I tended to be too literal, you can succeed at the puzzles if you let your mind wander over the various meaning and interpretations of the clues. Same for Connections, but I'll admit to getting the three easiest categories and only scoring the last category because there are only four choices left. Homonyms of animals, take that!
I'll admit to an un-superpower in that I'm almost always five minutes late, no matter how hard I try to be somewhere right on time, or even early. I have the gift of being genuinely unable to estimate how long something will take. People who love me really don't love this.
@N, love those possible epitaphs!
About that walking into stuff: I always thought I was clumsy until my optometrist explained my vision to me when I was in my 30s—I don't have depth perception. Maybe you also have an unexplained vision thing. . . learning it sure made me feel better about hating all sportsball!
@N, I too enjoyed the possible epitaphs. Here are a few of my own: "She never paid full retail price if she could help it," "Her favorite boutique was the Salvation Army superstore," and "She maintained her sense of humor against all odds." (The last one is actually in the obituary I've pre-written for myself.)
@Jean, my family used to always harrass me saying tell Regina earlier so she might be here on time. But in reality I am always on time to work & appointments but events (like family gatherings & vacation) I'm always the person making sure we have everything & that everything is taken care of before I can leave. So many times we've gotten to family functions & someone has forgotten (something) & has to go to get (something) while I may be few minutes late but I have everything I'm supposed to. 😉
@Irena, I, too, dislike driving. I ran into the back of a police car once. It was better when I had a standard shift vehicle because I tend to get bored and start day dreaming with an automatic.
@A. Marie, Oh, God, I thought I was the only person to have a pre-written obit!
@Lindsey, I can probably claim obituary writing as one of my superpowers. Not only did I write DH's in advance (I only had to put in the dates and do a little work on predeceased and surviving relatives when the time came) and my own, but I've written several for other folks. Especially in cases of sudden death, bereaved people often don't have a clue how to start, and this is something helpful I can do for them. (I can also usually raise a faint smile by telling them they're a lot better off with one of my obituaries than with one of my casseroles.)
@A. Marie, writing an obit for a bereaved friend is a tremendous gift. When newspapers stopped writing them, the grammar, position shifts, spelling, and discombobulation made them painful to read.
@Irena, my 13 yr old son and i do the mini everyday and we always solve it. but the connections is much harder. we never get more than 5 correct solves in a row. it is so frustrating but so much fun.
@A. Marie, i hope it doesn't get used for many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many,years.
Let's see.....I excel at cooking and baking but I cannot sew a button, cross stitch or quilt or even hem a pair of pants to save my life.
I struggle to plan out my time so I am often skating by a the last minute on projects, tasks, etc. It is not a procrastination thing but rather an inability to be able to plan how much time the task will take and then that seems to trickle down as the day goes by.
I work well under pressure. Some of my best assignments, projects, meals cooked etc. have been under a time crunch. I tend not to excel at slow and steady wins the race unless it is something I'm forced into like getting in shape...you can't do that overnight.
I am constantly stubbing my toes or knees on corners of walls, furniture, the towing hitch on the back of my car while unloading groceries.
I struggle to see the forest for the trees. I am very detail oriented but when it comes to the larger picture, I tend to get bogged down or stuck in the more finite points.
@Angie, I also "struggle to see the forest for the trees." But with increasing age and the broader perspective on life that this brings, I'm getting better at seeing the forest.
@Angie, that actually sounds like traits of ADHD. Having been diagnosed for over 30 years (diagnosed around age 30), I now understand why I excel under pressure, do my best work last minute, procrastinate horribly, run into and drop everything, why it takes me 15 minutes to get into a comfortable sleep position while my partner just rolls over and is asleep etc. S
@Dawn in WA, I was just about to say the same thing (ADHD traits)
I'm good at not getting myself lost while traveling, but I'm terrible at navigation for others ( my partner knows to look at my hands when traveling, as I'll say aloud the wrong way, but my hands are pointing to actual direction). I'm also a fast reader, but I too run into walls, objects,etc. I'm very organized behind the scenes ( closets, cupboards,etc, but have doom piles in random spots that are visible.
@It's me, Sam, "doom piles" I like that! And never thought of it that way, but that is exactly what they are!
@It's me, Sam,
I have doom baskets. All the things that I need to find a home for are thrown in these baskets. I’ve never decided if this was a good thing or a bad thing.
@Bee, as one with a basket collection that's always about to get out of hand, I love the "doom baskets" idea. I actually have one basket that's dedicated to each week's grocery receipts, so that I can pull these out for WIS/WIA on Fridays!
@A. Marie, my doom basket for grocery/anything paper receipts are for the year. I do sort through receipts later to attach to purchases (clothing/non food items) just in case for return/gifts. I do recycle receipts 2+ years old for groceries & bills that way I can compare prices from previous year.
Plus a built in taxes thing.
Perhaps the most surprising of several super powers is that for whatever reason, people share their stories with me. We're talking absolute strangers out of the blue. Example: One day, waiting for my Chinese food takeout to be ready, a woman sat down next to me and shared some of the most intimate challenges, healthwise, she was going through. Maybe I could have been anyone but this has happened with no incentive or prompting from me, many, many, many times.
And, in the same vein, I have spent huge portions of my professional life interviewing people (for stories, and other reasons) and having them share all sorts of information that had nothing to do with the meeting at hand. Concurrently, I am very very good at NOT sharing what others share with me. There is an incredible intimacy when people share their thoughts and feelings with you and it helps you feel closer to others and often to provide help that others didn't even know they needed.
Aside from being super organized (you should see my pantry!), I am a skilled and trained professional writer, editor and researcher. Whenever anyone wants to know about something, I get asked to research it and I always come up with more than they expected. I have always been curious and that has fueled all types of research (online, libraries, etc. as well as via other professionals) and helped me meet a lot of folks over the years. I just love learning new things and sometimes it is overwhelming (have had and continue to have to spend a lot of time on health issues. Sigh.) but always exciting
I am sincerely interested in people and how they live and experience life and as a result, again, people have shared a lot and I have learned a lot from them. The world is bigger than ourselves and that is a wonderful thing.
The super power I wish I had? The ability to speak, read and write ANY language so I could understand anyone. I do well with English and I can read a bit of both Italian and Spanish but am never going to be fluent in either. I have friends who can speak multiple languages fluently.
Why? How? Those fuel my every day life and I am grateful that even when learning some things makes us more aware of risk, that I have a working mind and can grasp new information. I also have what I call a built in fact-checker mind that I employ, no matter the source of information.
This was a great idea for a column. I look forward to reading everyone's responses.
@Irena,
Your #1 point is me to a T. People are always confiding in me and telling me personal details even when not asked for. I always say I should be a psychiatrist and get paid for it 😉
@Irena,
Also, your second point is me too. If the person asks me not to share, I don't. Period.
@Irena, There used to be a podcast called Every Little Thing and they did an episode on your #1, including tips on how to get people to stop telling you everything. You can still find it on Spotify (I couldn't find an episode number, but the date on it is 4/4/2022).
Hmm, I can paint a room and never have to tape off anything. I never use painter's tape for painting! I also am a fast reader AND can easily pick out the important parts of what I'm reading. This is a bit of a hinderance though because I then sometimes miss the subtleties that make a fiction story more rounded. I am also strangely comfortable giving talks in front of people - it has never made me nervous! If I had a topic, I could do a TED talk and not fret at all. My not so superpowers are that I am not at all crafty and am in awe of those who are. I can't see potential in discarded things because of this and it is so frustrating. (I have a coffee table I so want to refinish but can't see beyond the current state. )
@Deidre, yes! My dad taught me to paint rooms as a child and I have never needed painters tape. I’m so grateful to him for letting me help on so many projects so I feel confident as an adult.
Oh wow I am envious of your painting skills! And also your ease with talking in front of a crowd.
This is such a fun question! Ever since I was a kid I have always been really good at guessing the time and being right on the minute. I can also put something in the microwave, leave the room, and know when to come back right before it’s done. I guess I have a really good internal clock? Not terribly useful because most people have phones on them to tell the time, but still fun. 🙂
I am absolutely terrible with knowing directions and it took me forever to learn even my left from my right.
@Katie,
It’s interesting that she can save time but not space. They’re usually related. Every brain is wired differently.
@Bee, ** tell time
You hit the jackpot with this question!
Useless superpowers?
• I can get lost anywhere. I once got lost on my own five acres of property. (In my defense, it was getting dark and there were a lot of trees.)
• I can trip on a flat surface.
Useful superpowers?
• I can tell when an animal is sick long before he shows symptoms.
• I can also tell when someone is lying to me.
My husband thinks I'm psychic. I'm not. I just pick up on subtle details that seem out of character for people and animals.
Kristin-with-an-I deserves the credit for the question idea!
@Maria, afriend and I once had a conversation about tripping on a flat surface. She calls them heavy gravity squares.
@Maria, I do not trip on flat surfaces, but I have been known to trip over speed bumps, yes you read that correctly. I was at the airport once running to meet someone, and I tripped over the speed bump in the street, and went splat right in front of a tour bus full of people. I picked myself up, smiled, and limped off; once out of sight of the tour bus I burst into tears it was so painful.
@Amy cheapohmom, Thank your friend for me. I'm going to use that line the next time I get caught tripping on a flat surface. LOL!
@Linda in Canada,
My husband knows he has now reached the plane of old age. When he was younger and tripped on something, people might laugh, but now they come running over to help him up. He says he liked it better when they laughed.
It's not funny though. I've known lots of people who've really hurt themselves. One broke her ankle on a curb. We were there when it happened. (It was at a garage sale.) Fortunately, my hubby is trained in emergency rescue and he got her in a splint until help arrived to take her to the hospital.
I hope you weren't too badly hurt.
I think of superpowers as something uninvited.
I have unusual animal encounters like:
The fox that joined me on my walk
The bears that stole my basketball
The deer that surrounded me until my cat came hissing and ran them off
The cougar on the snowy saguaro cactus outside Tucson
The snake that stood up in front of me
The elk that would not let me pass
The skunk that came out of the air register in the floor
The horse that came to me in a field and I rode it bareback
The otter that left me a large crawdad
The black panther and its baby in the ozark woods
And on and on.
I also regurgitate words of their own volition like Dylan’s sullen art
@Tiana, holy Christmas! You are so brave!
@Tiana, do you have an animal that visits you more aka a spirit animal?
@Bee, no I do not.everything from tigers to bunnies,oh I did have a mouse run up my pants leg once.
@Tiana,
It’s clear to me you’re a Disney princess undercover!
@Tiana, yikes. the mouse would horrify me. but the other animals are amazing. i am glad they did not hurt you.
Yay! So fun to read people acknowledging their strengths! This is rare for women in particular to do without apologizing or giving the counter examples of what they are not so good at, because, as I said, we feel it comes off as bragging. I thought maybe it would be easier in a mostly-anonymous setting.
Let's see. My everyday superpowers include:
--Well, food. But I think you all knew that. 🙂 I'm not afraid to try anything in the kitchen. Even when baking, which is not an interest of mine. Relatedly, I would be so good at one of those contests where you're given random ingredients and have to make a meal. Because I do it every day.
--I have a remarkable memory for song lyrics. If words are set to music, I will remember them forever. My children think it's funny that I still remember the words to "Mele Kalikimaka" (the Hawaiian Merry Christmas song), which I learned when I lived in Hawaii almost 40 years ago.
--Relatedly, I am really good about making up a tune to go with words. Like in kids' books that have the words to a song, but no music for it, I can make up a tune for it and will sing that every single time I read the book aloud. I can also spontaneously change the words to a song to fit whatever situation I'm in at the time. My kids roll their eyes at this one. I do it a lot when I'm waking them up. (For example, to the tune of "Camptown Races": "Time to get yourself out of bed, doo da, doo da. Time to get yourself out of bed, and go to school. Gonna go to school, learn and play all day. Time to get yourself out of bed, and go to school.")
--It's very hard to stump me with vocabularly and spelling. I know more words than anyone else I know. Probably because I read so much, and especially the older books that tend to use more obscure words.
--I am good at taking random weeds and flowers from outside and arranging them into something aesthetically pleasing. And the end result is more satisfying to me than purchasing flowers.
--Like Kristen, I am extremely consistent and dependable.
--I have a very good ear for languages and accents. I think this must be related to musicality. Does anyone know if that's true?
Okay, I'll stop there.
@kristin @ going country,
Yes. There’s a strong correlation between people with musical gifting and the ability to pick up languages. Perhaps it’s because musicians think a lot about subtle differences between notes, placement of sounds in their mouths, rhythm, etc.
And…people who do really good impressions of others are more likely to have perfect pitch than the general populace.
@kristin @ going country,
I do the same thing re making up words & songs. I’m always saying, “There’s a song to go with this.”
@kristin @ going country, I always look forward to your floral arrangements!! I learned Meme Kalikimaka as a child (my granddaddy had a Hawaiian band back in the 40s and taught my sister and me lots of the songs in the 60s). That and Hawaiian Wedding Song are two of my favorites
@LDA, Ha. I don't just say there's a song to go with it, I sing the song. My memory bank of songs is so extensive that I'm likely to be triggered by almost any word or phrase and just start singing whatever I'm reminded of. My children do not appreciate this gift of mine now, but they will someday, I'm sure. 🙂
@kristin @ going country, I'm the same with song lyrics. And with accents, if I'm staying in a foreign place for very long I start speaking in the accent of the region I'm in. I can't help it, and I always hope the locals don't think I'm mocking them! DH thinks my Southern accent is awesome, though. 😉
@kristin @ going country, I'm really good at languages (I speak fluent french, german, english, quite a bit of spanish and italian and will be able to small talk to a cab driver in a foreign country after a week) but I'm not musical at all.. I love singing, the people around me not so much..
This has got me thinking because there are powers we "wish we had" all the time and powers we "wish we didn't have". Well me anyway because ....
I would have to say my superpower that I wish I didn't have is worrying. I have anxiety and I am constantly worrying about what others think of me, even at 63! And I constantly worry about my family and if they are all doing well. The medication has softened me a little so that I no longer get sick worrying and thinking, but there is still an underlying "what if" situation always going on. And then I create a few lists so I can do things to keep organized so I don't get distracted with the constantly worrying. And if I don't have a list, I forget things (usually it's the list at home!)
And then there is the power I wish I had: I wish I was smarter. My parents really weren't ones to help us with schoolwork and studying so I don't have a skill where I can sit and do course work. I squeaked by thru school just so that I could get out. And I went to secretarial school back in the day after high school to learn typing and shorthand because I couldn't really study other courses. That's why I always praise someone for graduating or going back to school to get a degree - Kristen, I am jealous, but in awe that you can go back to school and with straight A's!
@Maureen, But what are you good at? What are your superpowers? I know you have some because every single person does, but none of them made it into your comment!
@Maureen, I've always been fascinated by shorthand; it's like knowing an obscure language. My mom used to jot things down in shorthand that she didn't want us kids to know, so I saw it as a great spy tool, and managed to learn a few squiggles. But even though I was good at learning foreign languages, that more spatial representation of words in shorthand was much harder for me, so I would definitely view your shorthand as a superpower!
@Maureen, I agree with Kristin-with-an-i: Tell us some of your strengths, too.
But I must admit that I'm right there with you on the anxiety and worrying. I think that my father would have qualified for a diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder, and that one of my sisters and I have inherited the tendency. However, one way I'm lucky to have worked for the publishing company I did was that I got to read a lot of texts over the years on cognitive-behavioral ways of dealing with anxiety, and some of these have helped me quite a bit.
@kristen @ going country, @Suz and @A. Marie I guess my superpower would be crafting. Altho I am not 100% perfect at it like people that sell their wares, I would so rather be crafting or scrapbooking than doing anything else. People seem to think I am very crafty, but truth be told, I start and re-start projects all the time until I think they are "good enough" and not perfect. I have overcome being 100% perfect on a scrapbook page because there are hundreds of pages and some pages are a lot are better than the "oh well" pages.
I am also good at organizing. We have a lot of stuff in our house and I pretty much know where everything is - unless it's in my husband's stash room. But if he asks me for something, I usually can tell him where to find it and not moving from my chair. "It's in the middle pile, about half way down, near this piece of paper."
Oh and I'm good at getting mad at my husband (as he would say!). LOL
@Maureen, my super power is that I am on average 4 thoughts before everyone I know. But it is really the anxiety. It is very useful in making decisions but I wish I didn't have it because of the anxiety.
@Amy cheapohmom, My DH is like that also. He is capable of seeing anything that may go wrong.
@Maureen, i am right with you on finding stuff w without moving from my chair and having a short fuse which i got from my dad. but i don't hold a grudge against my kids or hubby. the rest of the world watch out.
I am very detail oriented and organized at work. I am very good at reviewing and editing documents. My organization skills at home are a bit lacking however, as we always have a pile of paperwork or things that need to find a home.
I am good at making lists of things to get done to accomplish a task, whether it is a work project, a vacation or a holiday meal.
I am friendly and can make conversation with almost anyone, and for some reason, strangers feel compelled to tell me intimate details of their lives.
I started out as an engineering major but was not good at it, and that's when I figured out that I am good at math, so I majored in that instead.
I am clumsy and drop stuff all the time. I didn't realize just how much until I had surgery recently that made it hard to pick things up. I drop multiple things, every single day!
I cannot paint around trim without using painter's tape, no matter how many YouTube videos I watch.
Fun topic! My "superpowers"--
*What my kids call "momming it." This means that I do a good job of straying far from the recipe and making it good. This is from lots of years of lots of cooking, and it's useful when it comes to cutting down on food waste.
*Optimism. I was Annie in a local musical when I was 10. It fit me well.
*Intuition. I think, like Maria, I can pick up on tiny clues.
*Contentment.
My anti-superpowers? I'm really good at not observing the obvious. I have no clue what you were wearing, and I didn't see that building on fire. I am awesome at killing sourdough starter. Every time. I'm also fairly decent at procrastination.
Kristen, all of your blog topics are great, and this one is no exception.
All my life I've been told I'm a good listener. Specifically, though, my serious superpower is that I'm able to sense when someone has a vulnerable part of their life. I think I'm an encouragement to people in those areas ... I can tell how much or little they want to talk about it, and listen and answer based on what seems best for them.
My silly one is that when I'm at a red light, I never take my eyes off of it. I won't look away for anything. I don't want to be the person who causes drivers behind me to not make it through because I wasn't paying attention.
The superpowers I wish I had are too many to count, but I admire people who are witty and quick on their feet, people who think up clever ideas, and anyone who has even a remotely good sense of direction.
Being a good listener is an amazing superpower! The world needs more of that.
My superpower is that I'm good at judging what will fit in a space, whether it's the backseat of a car, a cube van or a box. I'm also good at talking to time. If you asked me to speak for thirty seconds or five minutes I can do it without looking at a clock.
My anti-superpower is that I'm terrible at small talk, which is why I dislike parties.
Not useful:
Loading the dishwasher and forgetting to run it. Ugh.
Useful:
Being able to read in noisy places. The only way I made it through college was reading textbooks in noisy volleyball gyms, but I can block everything else out and read. It came in handy a few weeks ago while I was on a bus with a bunch of second graders!
Kindness - this has grown over the years.
Details/Calendaring - whether it's calculating how much of each material we need for 45 kids to make a particular craft or keeping track of the school calendar or calculating when I need to start making a big meal and scheduling out all the individual parts.
Also, I'm really good at finding deals.
And thanks to years' worth of Thankful Thursdays - I've gotten a lot better at appreciating the small things. Thanks, Kristen!
@Ruth T, the last part of your last item is a superpower I wish I had. The reason why my cooking specialties are soups, stews, and sheet-pan dinners is that these are all one-pot or one-pan meals. On the occasions (now rare) when I try to prepare a multi-component meal, I sweat bullets.
@A. Marie, i bet you are too hard on yourself.
I love this thread! My actual superpowers: I am organized and efficient, sometimes to a fault. Our home (even when we had four small children) is always tidy and everything in my home has a "home", so it's easy to clean up and always know where things are.
God has blessed me with the gift of hospitality. When my husband was in grad school, far away from either of our homes, an older couple in our church "adopted" us for those years. They were such an amazing example of hospitality to us. Whenever we went to their home, I knew I would have an amazing meal in a warm and inviting atmosphere with sweet, intentional conversation. That is exactly what I hope to replicate in our home when we have guests. I LOVE to entertain, and I hope my guests LOVE to be here.
Lastly, I have amazing attention to detail and notice things many people wouldn't. I have a degree in professional writing, which definitely refined my innate attention to detail, but this skill also helps me remember birthdays and other dates, follow up on concerns/prayer requests someone may have mentioned, to send snail mail cards for small things, and to keep a list when someone mentions something they like so I have that for future reference.
My anti-superpowers: I have ZERO sense of direction. None. If I'm driving up a hill, I just assume I'm going north, which is terribly unhelpful. I have never in my life kept a planner or "to do list". I start and no matter what I do, I lose steam about 5 days in. This has come back to me bite me more than a few times over the years. Lastly, I loathe (probably because I am terrible at) any game that involves strategy, tracking other people's cards, etc. This wouldn't matter except that my whole family loves those type of games, and absolutely no one wants to play Scrabble or Bananagrams with me.
Tripping over things in my own home.
Taking off my glasses to read and losing track of them( which is why I own numerous pairs)
Losing at minimum one pair of gloves each winter...
That's all for now!
Happy Festivus and Merry Christmas!!!!
@Pat, please let us know some of your real (i.e., positive) superpowers too.
I can read quickly, and remember what I read and where to find it. People at work come to ask me things like: "Who sent that email about [topic], and I will be able to tell them the sender, title of the email, and approximate date it was sent. Or which book to find a fact in. This is helpful as a teacher because I can plan lessons much more quickly than many.
I, too, can always tell which way is north/south, ever since I was little. For some reason, that doesn’t translate into figuring out how to get somewhere. I am terrible with directions, and have learned that I need to drive somewhere myself about 10-12 times before I can remember how to do it without navigation directions.
I also do well with challenging students. I can work as a team with a student that is struggling, help them be part of becoming aware of the issues, making plans to make improvements, and help them consistently work on those plans. I can stay calm while they stumble, while still holding them accountable for their actions. They don’t always like it, but I can often help make some positive changes.
Less helpful superpowers:
-I can get hurt doing things that shouldn’t be dangerous. I once tore a tendon in my knee by catching my pinky toe on one of my kids’ toys. I perpetually have bruises at the heights of desks and dishwashers.
-I can become utterly confused by Step 1 of the assembly directions for putting something together (the worst ones are the ones with only pictures—give me some words!).
-I don’t see decor or background things. People could ask me what color my house is, and I would have to think hard. My boss once cut her hair from mid-back length to just below her ears and it took me 3 days to figure out why she looked different. I’ve gotten better about this as I’ve gotten older, but it’s a process. It makes it easy to pick out things for our house. I only care about function, not aesthetics, so I say what function I want, then my husband can get what he thinks looks good. I just say, "I won’t even see it after it’s been here for a week!"
My useful superpowers, at least in my opinion:
--I'm a fast reader. I never thought much of this (except when I got in trouble in school for being done reading a chapter in class, and then turning to my fiction book I always carried with me--the teacher didn't believe I'd read the chapter in my intensely boring Ohio history book, so I got detention...for READING in school). But anyway, I read very quickly, and I remember most of what I read quickly. The downside of this is I have to go to the library quite often. I get very twitchy if I have nothing new to read.
--This probably goes along with fast reading, but I write very quickly, too, and often have a writing assignment done well ahead of time. You know that annoying person in your class who had the essay done a week ahead, and everyone else was kind of panicking because they hadn't started? That's me. But because I read so quickly, I am happy to proofread your paper and I will get it back to you in a jiffy. I had a friend recently ask me to read through a 240 page document for a personal project. Took me about three weeks to get that done while working on class projects.
--Organizing. I would rather organize and declutter than clean, though I'm good at that too. But organizing is FUN. I wish I'd had more time at my friend's house last time I visited; she wanted help organizing her arts and crafts table.
--I can get in and out of the grocery store, with a full shopping list, in half an hour. That's shopping for six people, for a week.
My non-useful superpowers:
--Because I love to declutter, I am adept at accidentally tossing Very Important Things when I get into the zone. Once I got so into cleaning out the car that I tossed not just all the expired registrations, but the current one. Oops. I sometimes daydream about all the things I would declutter out of the garage, but that is DH's zone and I don't touch it unless I find something that is very obviously Trash.
--I have a rare inability to picture how objects will fit in a three-dimensional space. I blame this on the fact that most of my art classes were two-dimensional, so I'm good at that, but whenever we move and look at a new place, I cannot picture how our furniture will fit. DH is very good at this, so I just ask him, "Will it all fit?" and he says "Yes" and I trust him. He's how we were able to fit six people in this 1600 square foot house. Me, I panic and say "That bed will NEVER fit!"
Ooh, I forgot my favorite superpower. I can spell anything. Ask me a word and I can see it in my head, clear as day.
The spelling and seeing the word in my head: yes. The exception is words with double letters. I am ALWAYS having to go back and correct my double letter spelling!
The writing; that's how I'm gonna be in my BSN program. lol Writing is my sweet spot!
@Karen A.,
Oo, I see the words in my head too!
@Karen A., I can spell absolutely anything if I'm working in print. It was occasionally possible to "spell me down" in an elementary school spelling bee, because I'm visually rather than aurally oriented.
@A. Marie, Me too!
Kristen--I realized my youngest has this when I was giving him a spelling quiz and I saw him look up and to the side--just like I do when I'm seeing a word--and I asked him if he could see the word in his head, and he looked at me like I was crazy: "Doesn't everyone?" No, not my other kids nor DH! Numbers are much harder for me to visualize, though.
@Karen A., I had a professor that taught spelling to executives for big bucks. He tried his method on my dyslexic son who was a terrible speller. He found that if the flash card was held upside down, level, and to the left he could spell the word perfectly. Different hard wiring.
This is fun, and nice to focus for a bit on some of what makes each of us special.
Like Kristen, I can find a quick nugget of connection, and then use it to talk to pretty much anybody. I use it pretty much daily as I move around my vibrant little coastal area replete with happy locals and happy visitors. So much to share and celebrate, always.
I am super organized, have no clutter anywhere, and know where pretty much everything I own can be located at any time, including in the garage. I also have no problem letting go of things, reasoning that in the unlikely event I ever need it again it can be repurposed.
I am a GREAT planner of fun things! I had the busiest and most dynamic girl scout troop in my town back in the day, with a waiting list to get in. I hope I left 'my' girls with lots of fun memories of our many activities and trips.
And I have planned out dozens, if not hundreds, of wonderful things, from fun weekends at home, to quick weekend getaways, to multi week travel trips, to multi month RV trips. I do tons of research and then create spreadsheets of activities, including where to get the best and/or most interesting eats. I confess though, that I love the planning almost as much as the doing!
Ohhhh, I need a friend like you! I hate planning trips.
@Tamara R, I also adore planning trips!
Not useful superpowers: I will forget your name within seconds, and by the end of a long day, I will forget the names of everyone I am talking to. I will also call you by the name of whoever I am thinking about at the time.
I will forget why I put an item in a meeting agenda. In a meeting I called.
I drop cough drop wrappers everywhere. My staff jokes that they can follow my wrapper trail to find me.
If I see a price tag or label on something I own, I have to peel it off RIGHT NOW.
Useful superpower: I'm very patient. I don't take it personally when people are venting about a problem and ask me to change something within my control. I figure if they stop coming to me with their problems, they have lost trust that I can help them. On the other hand, if they vent about the same thing over and over and over, then I lose it.
Also, I really love being around children. There's not much they can do that makes me angry. I do have to remind them of expectations and enforce that in my job, but I think its hard to be a kid and I'm here to support them and help them to succeed. I really love it.
I am very organized. Have a terrible sense of direction. Can woo any dog or cat into accepting affection, no matter how skittish they are. Got social anxiety but can fake small talk really well.
@Ruby, I need you to help me with my 9 mos old shelter dog. I’ve had him 2 wks & we’re officially a bonded pair, but he is afraid of EVERYTHING!!!
@Diane, oh, poor little guy. That usually means they've had some bad experiences at an early stage of life. My older dog was bought off Craigslist as a tiny puppy and dropped at the pound as a 4 month old. Rescue pulled her and we adopted her. She is sweet and smart, but terrified of so many things. Our vet said she'd obviously been hit and kicked as a baby. She's eight now and it's just been a long process of lots of praise and treats when she has an appropriate reaction and very gradually easing her into situations that she can succeed at.
She will never be "all right," as she's a sensitive dog with a lot of trauma, but she's so much better than she was.
I am genuinely good at gifts. I can work out what people want and will be happy with... very useful at this time of year!
I am exceptionally bad at filling in forms. It's a sickness, literally. I never have met a form I fill in correctly the first time, and it's absolutely ridiculous.
I read very fast. I grew up in the sprawling suburbs with restrictions on screen time, so I spent a lot of time alone, reading. It is/was a very handy skill to have as a student, but the downside is that in the years before e-readers, it was impossible for me to find books to travel with, because I'd bring 2 or 3 and still have nothing to read once I got to my destination. Now it's nice; I can read through a light romance in 90 minutes to two hours, which is about as long as a movie. And I prefer reading to movies, most of the time.
My less-helpful superpower is that I can get motion-sick in any situation. Driving a car? Yes. Boats? Definitely. Airplanes? Yes. While playing geoguesser on my couch? Sadly, yes. In an elevator if it stops too many times? Also yes.
I am also extremely good at dropping things and losing my phone; I would say that I lose it about 3 times a week in our apartment.
@Meira@meirathebear, Your motion sickness comment reminded me of a super power I have not used at all in recent years, but I can vomit on command. I used it shamelessly in boarding school to stay in bed when everyone else had to go to class. I last used it over 40 years ago when I was on a date and the guy got forceful physically. I vomited on his chin and chest and that was the end of that. I also vomited once because my father was on a roll with a lecture and I was tired of listening to him.
It has never occurred to me how useful a skill this could be, but I see it now!
@Lindsey, oh my! I'm glad you were able to escape that situation. How awful.
@Lindsey, lol. I hadn’t thought of this in years. I was walking around the city with my boyfriend and we went in a tiny store to get something to drink and saw a friend from school. We were talking and he had us go with him behind the counter and there was a nightclub back there. Some guy came up and said he wanted us to sit with him at his table, we tried to politely decline but he pulled out a gun and insisted. So we tried to be nice and converse then he pointed the gun at me and said I want you to dance. Ballet? Tap? My boyfriend pushed me out of the booth and said come on let’s dance and whispered to me I’m going to act like I’m drunk and throw up and get us out of here. And it worked. Apparently bad guys don’t like vomiting victims.
I could see it not working so parents don’t send your 15 year old off to university. Good grades don’t always = smart.
@Lindsey, that is the weirdest grossest most useful superpower I've ever heard of!
P.S. Sumos are being harvested now although tomorrow's rain will put a hitch in their git-along.
This is a fun topic.
I can tell time almost to the minute and I always know when the oven timer is going to go off. I'm a fast reader and love to read. I'm over 200 books for the year.
I can cook without a recipe most of the time.
I'm not good at directions but once I've been somewhere I can get back there without GPS.
I can 'read'most people and do love to people watch. I think as an introvert, i look for signals from people and am super sensitive.
Mine is making people connections using coincidence, though I particularly love the ones that also involve geography.
Here's an example. The grandmother of pair of young adult siblings, both in college now but neighbors and friends to us growing up, passed away last week. We live in Nebraska; the grandmother lived in South Dakota. One of the kids posted a photo of her memorial folder on the book of faces, and it turns out that one of the pastors at the funeral was (is) the cousin of my best friend. He grew up in Colorado; my best friend grew up in Kansas, and she now lives in Nevada. I met him in Colorado when we were all in high school.
So there you go. One giant circle. And this happens all the time. So quirky and so fantastic.
What a fun little exercise! It is a fun way to get to know everyone a little better. Thank you to everyone who shared.
• I am a turtle aka a plodder like Kristen. I believe that slow and steady wins the race. Just about the time most people have given up, I really dig in to reach the finish line. I rarely give up. It helps to be the most determined sometimes especially when you aren’t the most talented.
• I can make something wonderful out of nothing. My house has been furnished with hand-me-downs, secondhand items, and the occasional garbage pick. Yet, people often ask me what decorator I used. This is a gift given to me by my father who was an architect. I often find myself rearranging friends furniture and picking paint colors and fabrics for others.
• People tell me everything, especially strangers. I mean everything. One day, I was helping a little old man in the grocery store who couldn’t reach something, and he began to tell me about his barium enema. The info garnered is never repeated to other friends and neighbors. I don’t believe in gossip.
• I can communicate well with animals, especially dogs. My family often calls me Dr. Dolittle.
• I am very patient. My mother said that I was born with the patience Job. I am truly thankful for this gift also given to me by my father. This has helped me in every aspect of my life, especially being a parent.
Wishing you all peace, good health, and prosperity as 2024 thankfully comes to an end.
This: "It helps to be the most determined sometimes especially when you aren’t the most talented." is so true. Consistent work can help you overcome a lot!
This is such a great topic. I am really enjoying reading about everyone's superpowers. It really made me think.
Add me to the club with no sense of direction. I can get lost in a large store. GPS has absolutely saved me. I think it's hereditary -- my brother is the same way.
I also hate small talk.
As for things I do well:
I was blessed with a lovely singing voice.
I too, am a fast reader and good writer. I've been able to make my living writing, for which I'm very grateful.
I'm a hard, efficient worker. I'm able to assess a situation, see what needs to be done and do it. The downside to this is that in a group project, I am off and running before everyone else has finished getting their coffee, making small talk, etc.
I am able to find joy in mundane tasks like preparing meals and mending clothes, doing laundry -- those things that need to be done. (This does not always apply. I don't love cleaning all the time.)
I'm a good listener. Maybe because I don't love small talk, I will sit and listen to other people and I usually really enjoy what they have to say.
@Cindi, What a lovely idea, to find joy in mundane tasks.
Writing from home today, as I have the whole week off, yay!
Like others, I am a fast reader. I can plow through books, but sometimes I make myself slow down to savor it.
I have a pretty good grasp at figuring out the meaning behind dreams, not in the woo-woo way but in seeing the connection to real life. I’ve had several people tell me it helped them. My husband stopped having a decades old dream he finally told me about, when I figured out his dream was expressing his repressed, guilty anger over his dad dying from stroke when DH was a teen.
I often can’t find things I put away for safekeeping but I am good at finding obscure things on the internet. This skill wasn’t much good before the internet, of course, ha.
I am good at remembering useless trivia. I inherited that from my mother. I’m so good at it that my husband’s co-workers, my coworkers and my kids’ friends would call me to verify trivia facts. If only I remembered the important stuff as well.
Not so super power-I, too, have no sense of direction. My DH had it and our oldest has it. The youngest and I get lost in a parking lot.
I am never going to be able to wake up early without an alarm, and I will never be cheerful when I first get up. Note the time I am posting today.
I will never make friends easily.
I will never be able to back up a trailer I am towing.
Woohoo for a week off! Enjoy!
@JD, I'm another Queen of Useless Trivia. A minor regret of mine is that I never applied to be a Jeopardy! contestant--but (a) I never really liked Alex Trebek (I was immediately and completely smitten at age 9 by Art Fleming when the show first aired in 1964); (b) I like Ken Jennings even less; and (c) I'm now too old and my reaction time is too slow for me to compete anyway. So it goes.
So this is fun and kind of hard too. I read what someone's superpower is and think, no, I don't have that one. And then thinking about what could be a superpower, I find myself discounting it. So, here goes . . .
One superpower is that I'm smart. This has made it possible to have a challenging career while having ADD. I work like the hare, not the tortoise - in fast spurts between unfocused time.
I'm a kind person.
And I am good with color. I love picking quilt fabric, for example.
My not so super powers include not being able to see a mess. I just don't see things around me very well, so the stack of papers doesn't bother me. I am trying to overcome this not so super power for the sake of a peaceful home.
I tend to be very, very good at remembering tiny little details about what people tell me. Their likes/dislikes, what their kids/grandkids are doing. I regularly get shocked looks when I ask someone about some particular circumstance or person!
I'm good at being frugal.
I think I'm a decent cook.
I'm good at planning.
I'm good at getting everything done before a deadline.
"Negative" superpowers?
- Pessimism
- Negativity
- Lack of generosity
I'm working on all of the above (and certainly many more), but those are things I recognize in myself that I'm trying to gently change.
This reminds me a bit of the movie The Incredibles, where on the surface we often look like average folks, but each have some unique strengths (and of course weaknesses, too). What are everyone's secret superpowers?? 🙂 I've enjoyed reading the comments!
Hmm, let's see.... while I really do like talking with people one on one and in small groups, I struggle more with navigating large parties and making superficial chitchat. I'm not gifted in fashion or interior decor. I love tutoring high school math, do it often, and find great fulfillment in it. I'm gifted with detailed planning and organization, as well as frugality. Stereotypical engineer, perhaps? My family tells me I have the "finder" superpower- usually I can locate even obscure missing items pretty quickly. As far as unique skill sets go, my part time job comes to mind (spacecraft alignment engineer for nasa missions). It definitely relies on my strengths in math and being highly detail oriented. However, sometimes this drive for precision can present as a weakness in social arenas, lol.
Happy holidays to Kristen and the FG community!
@PD, we are ALL The Incredibles!
I'm a good listener. I like to hear people's stories, even mundane things. Simple things make me happy. I find noteworthy sights on every walk. I'm a systems thinker, which lets me see the forest and the trees.
I'll tell you one superpower that I don't have, but I've admired in a number of folks here in the Commentariat - the ability to remember details from other commenters over time. Somehow it's much easier for my brain to remember details about people my eyes have seen, so I'm often unable to put my finger on who gave that frugal tip that came in handy for me, for example.
So if anyone is having trouble thinking of a superpower, but you've ever remembered someone's comment and referenced it a few days later - I admire your superpower!
@Suz, showing off a little here (or maybe looking like a donkey): how's The Frugal Pear painting? (Oh yikes, what if you are the wrong Suz??)
@Central Calif. Artist Jana, oh, sadly I'm not the owner of the Frugal Pear painting, but I did admire it very much when it was shared here! And I really love your art superpower and would take lessons from you if I were nearby, in case I could someday coax a drawing out of my own head/fingers.
My superpower is remembering names.
@Jenni, Such a useful one! I remember all sorts of things about people I meet but not usually their names.
My tongue in cheek super power is I have no concept of direction! The words South, North, East and West mean nothing to me.
My silly super power is when I go to Target, I know the second I pull into the parking lot if I will see someone I know there. My clairvoyance only extends to Target.
And my actual super power is I can speed read and speed run quizzes. I did a Google certificate this year that is supposed to take 30-40 hours in 10 hours!
My superpower are I can cook a real good meal every day with Joy . I can read extremely fast( under 2 hour for most books) I speak 8 languague. I am a fixer, not of things but situations ( from organized a funaral for a friend to getting administrative stuff done in no time . My other super power are I am so dyslexic that I cannot write properly in any language. I am unable to use tools. I am not good nor happy in crowd. I can overspend when I feel people looking down on me . Lots of honesty here .
@Bella, oh, I would love the eight languages! Awesome.
@Bella, I applaud your superpowers, as well as your honesty about your dyslexia. I can imagine the struggles you've had with the dyslexia--and I'm in awe that you speak 8 languages. I can sort of stumble along in French, but I'm only fluent in English. My hat's off to you.
I share some with Kristen, like seeing value in broken things. The one particular to me is that I can tell exactly which container is the right size for which leftover. This amazing skill has not yet made me rich or famous. I am still waiting.
@Ava, love it! me too, lol : -)
@Ava, haha I'm the same about the container sizing - we can't monetize it but it's a fun party trick 😉
@Ava, The container thing is something I must applaud. I am the person who frequently overestimates or underestimates grossly. I had a roommate who could get it right every time. It's an impressive skill.
I am also a super fast reader and a writer, and I think friendliness and empathy are also my superpowers. Another big one is the ability to organize creatively. For example, I am the Vacation Bible School director at my church, and I love it. Planning it, seeing the big picture and the little details, organizing everything- it is my passion. I also love planning any children’s functions and writing/producing plays or other performances.
However, when it comes to what I consider to be non-creative organization, such as keeping an organized house…well, that is definitely my anti-superpower. If you come for an unscheduled visit, I will entertain you in my yard. If you want to schedule a visit, give me a few days to a week.
I can and do trip over almost anything, repeatedly. In fact, yesterday I may have broken a toe with a THIRD trip over a bicycle tire pump (I've since moved offending pump back into the coat closet whence it came from)
-I am a typo-psycho and spot typos immediately, EVERYWHERE. (It might also be a bit of a curse, sort of how having perfect pitch makes it hard for those folks to enjoy regular music.)
-I have a great memory, so people tell me. This can be weird, because it sometimes makes me feel like a stalker. And my husband asks me to remember things that happened before we even met, or wants me to tell him who his distant relatives are.
-Being super near-sighted enabled me to do very detailed drawings from a young age.
-Being very tuned in to beauty helps me find the subjects for drawing and painting; this is something I've worked hard on developing.
-I am a loser in the true sense of the word—my mom used to tell me that'd I'd lose my head if it wasn't attached.
-Horrible at all sports—can't run, hit, catch, or throw (and don't want to, so there.)
But wait! There's more!
A compulsive organizer and list maker (which means ignoring piles made by Husband and occasionally letting things pile up so that I get to put them in order)
Love to read and follow maps (I don't need no stinkin' GPS)
A rogue knitter (don't need no stinkin' patterns either)
@Central Calif. Artist Jana, I used to get into arguments with DH's GPS when we were on trips. And I usually won them.
I have a few superpowers, I guess: I forgive quickly. I was born in a good mood, so I'm cheerful more often than not. I love simple things and see beauty in them. This morning a low flying v of geese flew over as I entered work, I think that made my entire month so far. I am detail oriented and this helps in a lot of things. Oh! I fail often but forgive myself easily and quickly. My non superpowers: I can't seem to make friends to save my soul. Strangers love to talk to me, but beyond that... Also, I am excellent at being lazy, which is definitely not great!
My superpowers:
Unwanted: worrying, and hyper organization ( although this one is useful,) ability to bruise myself without being able to identify when or why
Useful: "staying in my own lane" otherwise known as minding my own business, not judging others, reinventing items that are not of use.
Well, don't feel bad about your air plant. I once killed a cactus. That's a terrible thing for a Texas gal to admit! Even worse, the cactus was a frugal win: a few years before its sad demise, I had picked up a large cactus leaf (? not sure what to call it...) that had been knocked off a large plant. It was lying on the sidewalk by a Mexican restaurant. Having heard you can root pieces of cacti, I took it home and stuck it in a pot. It lived for several years, grew big and once even had some yellow blooms on it. Forgot to take it in one winter night and it froze to death. RIP, pretty cactus!
My frugal superpower has been to find useful things -- a cactus leaf, furniture left out by the trash, coat hangers in shopping carts in parking lots, books -- that are discarded and therefore free. I'm not as adept at it as our friend Katy, the Non-Consumer Advocate, but I do OK.
Another frugal superpower is buying from thrift stores. I got a set of (brand new in the package) 4 LED night lights for $1 at Habitat Re-Store. They sell for much more than that at regular stores! Exact same product. I think it's something like $4 or $5 and change for a 4-pack and $1.85 for one night light alone. Just got 2 boxes of LED C7 Xmas lights for $1.50 each at another thrift store. At the supermarket, each pack of 2 sells for at least that much. All the ceiling fans in my house are secondhand and cheap. Ditto, most of the lamps. And I'd be here all day if I listed all the clothing bargains I get at "Salvation Armani", The "GW Boutique" and other charitable thrift stores. This season, 3 of my thrifted Christmas sweaters (bought years ago) are getting lots of compliments from students and customers alike.
I also do well at writing and decorating.
My not-so-super superpowers are killing Keurig coffeemakers (many bought secondhand, and I usually use reusable pods so that I can spoon coffee from a can in them and save $ that way), totaling a perfectly good car, not being able to keep my front yard looking good (huge live oaks shed tons of leaves every spring and killed the grass; English ivy groundcover has died), and procrastinating.
Oh, and I almost forgot: I can pinch or pick things up with my toes. (Big toe and 2nd toe on each foot). That has got to be a super power! My coordination pretty much ends at my toe knuckles, I'm such a klutz, but I don't have to stoop to pick things up if I'm barefoot. LOL!
Me too! A skill I developed in the years of having a baby in my arms most of the time. Ha.
@Fru-gal Lisa, I share your and Katy's superpowers of trashpicking and thrift store shopping--and I use my powers for good for my friends, as I'm sure you do too. Dr. Bestest Neighbor, for example, not only proudly wears the clothes I've thrifted for him over the years, but proudly tells people who admire them where they came from! (Yet another reason why I joined heartily in the accolades at his 88th birthday party yesterday.)
I have to "ease into a day," meaning I do not like to be awakened by an alarm. No conversation immediately upon awakening. By the same token, if I am tired, my patience is thinner. I am not good at higher math. I do not like change and was glad to learn coping skills to deal with it. My quick wit gets me into trouble often. I do not remember years or dates of many semi-important events. I remember my family's calendar birthdates, but not the years so I guestimate ages.
When I cook, I am a good cook and have a knack for cooking without a recipe. I have good baking skills of many things and am a self-taught cake decorator although I've never made fondant decorated cakes. I am very creative and can create aesthetically pleasing themed vignettes. I have had a lot of life experiences and I know a lot about several things and a little about very many things. My mind collects trivia but I can't always remember a name right after I've been told. I have an affinity for animals and dogs like me.
I can do almost any textile craft. At various times I have sewn, quilted, knit, crocheted, tatted, done macrame, rug braiding, rug hooking, bobbin lace. Unfortunately, I am only intrigued by truly large and complicated undertakings which makes me the queen of unfinished projects.
I am an excellent passenger. I don't feel compelled to control the vehicle, I'm a good navigator and I don't get bent out of shape in traffic or detours and I can keep people entertained and the snacks flowing.
I'm very left-brained/logical which gives me great puzzle skills. And on the negative side my mom used to say that I can trip on a chalk line on the sidewalk and I so identify with those of you who sport unexpected bruising from Lord only knows what furniture(or even doorframes)
I share some of. your tongue-in cheek super powers - especially the dishwasher one! And I envy some of your real ones - knowing which direction your facing is something I have never been able to do and I'm working on seeing beauty in the ordinary. My biggest super power is travel planning (I used to work as a travel agent) and I have loaned that ability to friends and family. I'm proud to say that I have a friend who says he will go on any trip that I plan!
My super power is being frugal. This is the topic all my friends turn to me for. My parents were pretty poor for much of my childhood. As a married couple my husband and I had 4 years of no income at all while my husband was in college and we had 3 kids, 2 of them school age. And then we raised 3 kids on one teacher's salary in California. We cash flowed college for our kids (not so hard since 2 of the 3 got full ride scholarships). If there is a free program for something, or a discount, or a creative alternative, I'm on it. My aunt who is super frugal (she used to label a gallon of milk with that date that it had to last until) says I'm even more frugal than she is. For me, figuring out how to do something frugally feels like a fun puzzle.. It also means that we consume less in general which is great for the planet.
My anti super power is that I have zero sense of direction. My Marine son says I need to pay attention to shadows more to help with that. I'm also rubbish at anything musical, though I do enjoy listening to music.
This is fun!
Not useful:
- often struggles with dvd players/ tv remotes
- expert worrier (I’m working on this!)
- control freak
- zero talent with hair, makeup
Useful:
- extremely organized
- strong clinical/ diagnostic skills in my professional life
- I can make people feel comfortable, safe, cared for pretty easily
- I’m kind almost all the time ☺️
My superpower is the ability to cook crispy bacon. In my family this is a known power and I am the bacon cooker for any event.
@Amy, good one!! An enviable skill, for sure!
@Amy, you can come cook bacon for me any time!
I can come up with pretty impressive meals quickly. I always have staples like ground beef all browned in the freezer, chicken ready for a casserole, and an adequate pantry. I have celiac disease so cook from scratch and mostly avoid restaurants. We just drove 1400 miles from Michigan to Texas. My husband got a sandwich at Buckeys but we ate from a cooler for the rest of our meals for 3 days.
Kristen, it looks to me like Chiquita may be your muse for envisioning how to fix or rehab that floral top.
Joining the ranks if those who cannot navigate well, by nature.
Also I lack mechanical skills, so Lisey's career intrigues me.
I am good at languages however. Both at work and at home, tasks involving writing are often passed to me. I also have a good singing voice and am a disciplined choir member. Finally, I am often used as the person to lighten the mood when discussions end up becoming gloomy. Which is funny because at heart I am a very serious person.
@JNL, same with the lack of mechanical skills and ability with languages!
Super powers: 1) untangling knots- part of this is a very high tolerance for tedious/menial tasks. 2) making something out of nothing- similar to your ability to see potential in things. 3) I am very easily content. This can be a problem bc I will just find a way to be happy in less than ideal situations rather than changing them.
My anti super power is getting lost. My older son is the opposite and has been finding my car in parking lots since he could speak. When he was about 4, he told me, “Mom, whichever way you think you’re supposed to go, just go the other way.” This was very good advice.
OMG! I thought reading that you ran the dishwasher with the door open until your second to last paragraph. I was thinking how is this possible & what a mess it would make.
Let's see, my not so helpful super powers --
● I can trip walking up the front steps of our house most every time & of course almost fall flat in my face, usually with groceries in hand.
● that I am loyal & kind sometimes to a fault for too long when know I should not be. But always wanting to look for the best in other people.
● not wanting to be wasteful so I hold onto things that are not going to get fixed but should/past best buy date/going to save for (person/activity) that doesn't end up happening.
● thinking my body is still capable of doing things I could do 10 years ago but struggles with now. Sure I can move all thos big bags of water softener salt from store to vehicle & vehicle to house then into basement (maybe in basement after a break).
Better super powers--
● I love to find great deals on quality gifts which usually leads to a stash of gifts (which should not need)
● doing helpful things for others & teaching my kids that kindness is always free & always worth it, even if others are not kind
● telling the truth & doing the right thing even if it hurts you or others (because lying is too hard to remember)
● getting everyday items at great deal & stocking up. I have not bought dish soap & hand soap($2), laundry soap or toilet bowl cleaner($1) in probably 6 months & don't need to for 6 months because got on sale so cheap I got enough to (hopefully) last 1 year.
● sharing---information, skills, equipment, food. I love that I can help others in small (& big) ways that are not a big deal. Dropping off food boxes to people without transportation, sharing our garden crops with others (homemade jams at holidays, frozen apple crisp for thank you/get better), helping with yard work/snow, information about resources
Hahaha, no, I'm just bumping into the door when the dishwasher is open!
@Regina, I, too, thought she had run the dishwasher with the door open!
Superpowers:
- Can make a meal out of anything. I love a good challenge.
- I have a great sense of direction and can fold a map easily.
- Dogs love me. I joke that I was a dog in another life. Dogsit for many.
- Good organizer (items and social events). Several people have asked for my help in this department.
- Good listener for family, friends and and even stangers. I think it's because I try to never judge!!
Not so great...
- Super clumsy (I have big 12W feet)!
- Patience is a real struggle for me.
- Can't sing, dance or play any instruments but I love music.
- I am a Gemini so sometimes I come back with something sassy when I shouldn't.
I can drive any piece of equipment: skid steer, semi-truck/trailer, stock trailer, big/little/in between tractors, forklifts, excavators. None of this helps me be a better nurse other than help my patients who operate those vehicles.
I can find lost items or misplaced items, anywhere.
I can fix or make-do. Work-arounds are my specialty. Came in handy in the pandemic as we didn't always have the right supplies at work.
I can grow anything.
I am an excellent tracker. Human or animal, comes in handy as a farmer/rancher. I volunteer as a search & rescue for 3 counties.
@Blue Gate Farmgirl, you must be the world's best neighbor and friend with all those practical skills. I am Very Impressed!
My main superpower: packing efficiently and accurately estimating what container is needed, whether it's a car, a storage unit, or a leftovers. My sweet fiance calls me "Tetris-Girl" because of it, and has almost stopped arguing about whether or not the pile of stuff will fit in the container I picked. Most spectacular example was when we were moving him out of his apartment, and had an admittedly huge pile of stuff to pack into two cars. Fiance, his sister, and his brother-in-law were all certain it couldn't fit - I kept eyeing the pile and saying "No, I think it's about right." Those cars were packed so tight it was laughable, but damn, every last thing fit inside the cars.
A superpower I developed is being able to talk to anyone. I worked in the museum world conducting interviews of random visitors for a few years, and after a few hundred or so, it gets a lot less scary to approach strangers and ask them questions. The innate part of this superpower is that I look pretty innocuous. Women don't seem to mind my talking with their husbands or children, which came in very handy in that job.
Also - I can't keep plants alive (I get ya about the air plants - weirdly difficult to keep alive), and regularly underestimate how much time and energy anything will take.
Anti-super powers:
1. I could not find my way out of a paper bag if the directions how to get out were written on the inside. I have no sense of direction.
2. I am very bad at remembering what my surroundings look like. We lived in Scotland for a year and one day I exclaimed at how lovely a patch of road was and why didn't we drive this way more often. My husband informed me it was our driveway (in my defense, we lived on a sheep farm and the driveway was over a mile long).
3. I am terrible at talking to people I don't know, sometimes even people I know. I have whirled around and gone the other direction in a grocery store for fear I would have to talk to someone. I just would rather read or write than talk.
4. I am not a warm and fuzzy person, except with my husband and my little sister (who is now 61!). It has worked against me because people I truly like have thought I did not like them at all.
5. I cannot think in 3 dimensions.
Super powers:
1. I am pretty fearless, even though at my age I probably should be more physically fearful of people. I don't like conflict but I don't flinch from it either. If I think there is a problem, I say so without agonizing over it for days before I talk to the person. And the best part of this to me is that I have no fear of standing up for someone vulnerable who is being mistreated, even complete strangers. I feel like it is my responsibility in life, which I know sounds idiotic. I have never seen one of the Avenger movies, but I think I could play that role!
2. I am good at brow-beating bureaucracies. There is almost always a back door, or an exception, or someone in higher authority who will give me what I need/want.
3. I have never much cared what people thought of me. That is a gift that comes to many as they age but I was pretty much born with it. I often (but not always) notice it when someone is disapproving of me, but that is their issue. My husband says that is the quality he first found most attractive in me. He should thank my father, who would yell out "Stop worrying about what people think about what you are saying or doing. Conformity leads to group think and that leads to communism!"
I mean, I knew the word communism before I knew our phone number.
4. I am a very fast reader and, like Kristin, I cannot take credit for it. I love to read pretty much above any other activity, possibly because it is so easy for me. I am in total awe of my husband carrying on despite having days where he cannot punch in a correct phone number because the symbols move around so much.
Positive super powers.
Very organized.
Naturally frugal.
Happy with less.
Fast reader
Great test taker
Negative super powers.
Great at worrying. Even when there is nothing really to worry about.
Good at grudge holding ( working on this!).
Poor balance ( working on this too!).
Merry Christmas frugal friends!
Useful:
1. I am really good at coming up with keywords for Google searches.
2. I am really good at evaluating written reports (ie. Medical insurance EOB’s). Also at finding errors on written reports (like a column of numbers that doesn’t actually add up to the total shown on the report)
3. I’m pretty good with directions. Especially going somewhere I’ve been to before. I just recently realized DH is not. (We’ve been married 42 years.) I used to think he didn’t want to navigate so we wouldn’t get into arguments, but now I know it’s because he genuinely didn’t know where to go.
Not useful:
1. I’m only good at writing in list form – not prose.
2. I know where every restaurant in town is. When I give directions it’s usually in terms of which restaurants you drive past.
3. I’m terrible at picking paint colors. I once chose the wall color for our office and a GF of a co-worker asked why we picked Crayola flesh color. Yep, that was me.
Both useful/not useful:
1. I’m really good at gathering data, but bad at making decisions. Luckily DH is the opposite. So when we need to buy something, I do the research and present it to him to pick one.
I'm a community college professor and I've been told by students that I'm good at telling the (hard) truth with kindness. I've always been a very positive person; I was just born that way. I'm also a calm driver. As far as tongue in cheek superpowers, hah! I lose things all the time (absent minded professor trope here). For example, I managed to lose 9 Christmas stockings (last year) and then forget that I lost them until I went looking for them again yesterday. Sigh. Christmas Kroger bags, second year in a row. It's a new tradition!
@Martha C, I envy being able to tell the hard truth with kindness. I swear that I can give someone good news in a way that makes them mad at me
My superpower is being able to know the exact sized container I need to package leftovers! Before caller ID, I often knew who was calling.
@PNW Casey, And, for years, regardless of time zone, I didn’t need an alarm to get up. I would tell myself the time before falling asleep and then wake up.
My superpower is I am super approachable I guess. Total strangers will come up to me and tell me their life story. I have heard so many fascinating stories from various people. My husband used to be amazed at the number of people who would share the most intimate details of their lives with me. I do love people and am fascinated by their life stories.
Other than that, no special skills. I have no sense of direction, cook fairly well but certainly not very fancy, sew a tad bit, knit but not exceptionally. I say I have lots of enthusiasm but very few skills!
I can always find something good about a person or situation. I'm definitely a glass half full girl.
Non-superpower- I'm great at putting things away for "safekeeping " and then not remembering where I put them.
this is so great. love the idea. i am clutsy but don't hurt myself too much usually. also i am pretty intuitive. i can tell when someone is tight with a buck without them saying anything. my husband and i are both very generous people. that is one of the things i love most about him. plus he understands me and gets me on a deep level. i really enjoy when people give me compliments on my appearance. my parents were great at putting me down.
I loved reading everyone's superpowers! I can definitely relate to Kristen's ability to kill plants, only mine is more extensive; I kill every indoor plant I've ever put in my house. I can, however, grow plants outside and usually have a little vegetable garden in the summer.
I don't have perfect pitch but close. My grandfather would sit my sister and I on the piano bench and teach us to sing little songs. I was 4, she was 6. Whatever the melody, I could always pick out the alto part and we could harmonize. I grew up singing with my two sisters (a 3-part trio). We had vocal lessons in our teens and sang together in many church functions, as well as being requested to sing at some parties.
I have no sense of time so I frequently set my phone alarm to remind me of appointments and such (or my husband keeps track for me - ha). Aside from that, I'm a consummate planner down to the last detail (like vacations and projects) and neat-nick.
I am jealous about your direction super power! I am directionally challenged. I always factor in getting -lost time when I go somewhere new. And if I am out of town, and can't see the Sierra Nevada mountains, I have no idea what's where except in the morning or evening when the sun gives helpful hints. Lol.
My super power is somehow always landing in affordable housing! My whole adult life I have had super affordable rent and now a mortgage. Some of this is due to choices - living with roommates, living in small spaces, buying an older home that most of my friends would
have turned up their noses at. So some of it is choice, and some of it is luck (I was ready to buy when the market was down in 2012/2013), and some of it was just being a good tenant. Twice I had landlords who reduced my rent significantly to keep me. Whatever the reason, I really appreciate that housing costs have never been a real concern for me, even though I've always had a very modest income until quite recently. (Knock on wood!)
I am the opposite in that directions do not make any sense whatsoever to me. If someone tells me to go a certain direction that is the least helpful thing possible. I have no clue.
My superpower is that I can find free or very inexpensive things to do wherever we visit, and they're actually very fun, enjoyable things to do for all involved (well, sometimes my teenager complains because her feet hurt and she's bored, but no one else is complaining).
My good super power: I can remember finite details about people, and can translate those into gifts. Gift giving is my absolute love language. And I love giving to other people (my husband and I are not exchanging gifts this christmas. It's been a rough year... but I saved a bonus I got from work to splurge on an ice fishing jacket for him because I know how much he absolutely wanted it... he doesn't know... ha).
I'm also GREAT at decluttering. I can get things out of the house and either sold on Facebook Marketplace, donated to Goodwill, given to friends/neighbors, etc. We hardly ever have things sitting around in our house.
I'm also pretty great at making members of my department (whether remote or in-person) feel appreciated and like part of the team. An integral part even. I've had so many complements from previous coworkers that it makes me happy that I'm the glue for many people <3
My less-than-stellar super power is that I can talk myself out of anything related to ME. I shouldnt do XYZ, I shouldnt buy myself XYZ, I should put someone else first, I dont NEED that. And then I'm usually last and feeling crummy ;p I do it to myself!
I'm also really good at saying, "I should remember that..." and if I don't write it down, I forget it immediately. Don't set a timer for food? Burn it. Don't write down to take out trash? Miss it. Don't remember to send XYZ out in the mail? It's late. I'm very good at it ;p
I have the same ability with direction! I can also "see" in my mind where I am on a map from above.
I have a good memory. I can remember events down to small details, like what people were wearing. In college I could read a page in my text book when studying. When asked a question from that page on the test I could "find" the answer on that page in my memory. Mostly now this equates to my husband asking me where things are, as I always know. Lol.
I also see time in an oval. Events fit into this oval in my mind throughout the year. It's hard to explain, but I rarely forget an event, birthday, appointment, etc
Youuuuuu have spatial synesthesia like me!!!
@Kristen, I have it too! I also see time in a shape.
@Sophie in Denmark, what shape do you see it in? Mine is in the shape of an oval. I kind of see it as a track that one would run/walk on. The starting point is January and the ending point is December.
Mine is an oval, and January is sort of near the middle of the top of the oval, if the oval is lying on its long side.
I have a memory like an elephant (no idea why this is an expression as it's not true at all).
This superpower serves me very well - at times much to others' chagrin, I am sure.
My not so superpower is not being able to parallel park. I have not done it even once since taking my driving test 30+ years ago. I imagine I'd be able to do it if I practiced but I've just never bothered.
Sad to say Mom skills, which is basically being organized. I've worked with males 98% of my career yet I am the one who keeps tracks and reminds them. I love reading the fine print/tax code. I like doing paperwork (don't care if it digital, it is still paperwork). There may be piles in my house but they are organized piles. AND I know which pile said piece of paper(s) reside.
I am highly flexible - I've worked in many sectors (life/health/A&H/AD&D insurance, banking, credit card, manufacturing, public sector aka state government) - did well in all and ported lessons learned across the sectors.
I can smell a rotting potato and cat urine well before most can. Not a resume item for sure lol.
What an interesting post!
My superpowers would be :
* Being able to work/connect with patients that are notoriously "difficult"
* knowing what time it is without looking at a clock. I now make it a guessing game and I'm usually very close or dead on
* How I'm able to find what I need/want for cheaper (my frugal ways), and just the way I manage money in general
Where I'm missing the mark :
* I have zero sense of direction. Even with GPS I can manage to get lost!
* I misplace my stuff all the time, namely my phone
@Isa, ah, I forgot one that my husband really appreciates:
* I can get myself ready and out the door in 10 minutes, including shower!
One of my superpowers is seeing things differently from most people. I once changed the direction of a nationwide hobby because I didn't do things the way they were always done. That same power made me good at testing my husband's software programs--I could break them easily by not doing things they way he expected them to be done.
I was good at playing Trivial Pursuit. Because I read so much that teaches me things most people wouldn't know. Like what a jockey's uniform is called thanks to reading Dick Francis mysteries.
I used to be good at writing but I'm losing that in my old age.
My primary anti-super power is observation. I simply don't notice so many things. Like not realizing a restaurant I am entering is about to close.
I have never tried to keep air plants because one of my super powers is to kill succulents and mint. A useful super power is I am good at math and science and tutor many students, 10 at the moment, in both areas. This year it is physical science through physics, and 5th grade math through Calculus. I know this is a gift from God because I quit my job as an RN to stay at home with my 2 children, who I homeschool all through school; and move my grandmother, who had Alzheimer's, in with our family to care for her. That was 20 years ago and I have never had to advertise to get students, they come for word of mouth. Another super power is being frugal.
What a fun post idea! Add “creating community” to your list of superpowers Kristen.
My superpowers are:
-Understanding the assignment. If I want to accomplish something I am good at quickly figuring out what it takes to succeed in a space.
-Time management. This superpower became clear to me when our daughter was diagnosed with ADHD and I started reading about AHDH brains. Evidently struggling with time is a big part of it. That made me realize how lucky I am to have an intuitive sense of how much time has passed and accurately predict how much time it will take me to do the next thing. This is a natural superpower but also one I have worked hard to further cultivate.
The superpower I admire most in other people is the ability to be with other people for hours on end without feeling drained or getting anxious about all the other things one needs to be doing or one could be doing. I have worked hard over the last 20 years to learn how to be a more empathetic person and good friend. I admire the folks for whom this comes naturally.
I have 2 superpowers
1- I always get sick behind the slowest person on the highway. (Not so useful)
And 2 - I can say pretty much anything to anyone (nicely, of course) and never get yelled at for it. (VERY useful). It means I can give critical feedback to anyone, and they always take it so well. I don't know what I did to deserve this superpower, but I do love it
My kids say that my superpower is being able to find things they have misplaced.
My husband would say its my bargain shopping and rebates. I like that I can create meals out of whatever needs used up (much like Kristen!), and remaking leftovers into something new. Doing my best to prevent food waste and save $$
I was encouraged that late was better than never so here they are.
1. Organizing, both physical and Getting S/h/*/$/Stuff Done. If there’s an opposite to executive function disorder, I have it. I’m not OCD, I’m just usually highly organized. In my home, everything (well, almost everything) has a place and everything is usually in its place. I can find anything in my kitchen blindfolded. Paperwork is more of a challenge but I usually do pretty well. I can usually remember what needs to be done and the sub-steps to get it done, without a list. Actual schedule is written down on a calendar, just in case.
2. Stamina and Being Tough. I don’t mean in physical activity (sadly), I mean in focusing and keeping moving forward. This helps with Getting Stuff Done, it also helps with doing a lot during the day on a trip, or being effective at work when there’s a ton to do. I don’t feel that I’m tops at this but over time, I’ve come to realize that I have more of this than many.
3. Problem Solving. Whether you need figuring out a more efficient procedure, or ways around a problem, or gaming a system to get the outcome you want, I’m your person. Sometimes it literally just pops into my head willy-nilly, other times it comes from thinking hard about the problem.
4. Negotiating, including Enlarging the Pie and also Standing My Ground. I’ve talked before about how I negotiate. I’m better at finding ways for everyone to be better off (Pareto Efficiencies, for the economically-trained) but I can wrestle for a bigger piece of the pie as well. I’m also good at being politely persistent and not accept “no” for an answer from, say, customer service. Or sometimes not-so-politely, if circumstances warrant it.
5. Tetrising. I can organize, make efficient, and tetris stuff into space very effectively. For example, graduating from college I sold some bulky stuff to another student. Her car was packed when she came to buy; by the time I was done she had the bulky stuff and more free space in her car than when she showed up. This was an unexpected downside when I moved: I had far more stuff than I realized.
There’s also plenty of things I’m not good at. Tops of my list are:
1. Not being judgmental. The best I’ve managed over time is learning not to say it; the judgmental voice is still in the back of my head.
2. Validating, and in particular realizing when I should be listening and validating rather than problem-solving.
3. Being positive. One reason I’m good a problem-solving is I’m good at anticipating problems. This doesn’t always lead to optimism.
4. Being patient. I’ll probably be working on this one till the day I die.
Thanks for listening and thanks to Kristin for posing the question
My super power is I can grow fruit trees from seed. Not very useful (they take 6+years to fruit) but it is fun. I’m getting my first crop of peaches from a tree I grew from seed during the first covid lockdowns in Australia.
Whoa, that's impressive! You are really playing the long game by doing this...you have lots of patience.
GIRLLLLLLLL - Me and that dishwasher - same, same. 🙁
At least it's not just me! HA.
I have the superpower of almost always seeing multiple sides of an issue. Even if I feel strongly one way, I can see how the other ways came about or what led to them. I also have the superpower (or perhaps it was rigourous training by my parents over all those years) of once something is a habit, like where an item goes for example, I always put it back there. The downside of that is that if it is not there, I have ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA where to look for it - it could be anywhere from right in front of me to the North Pole! I am at a complete loss.