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

Steam is so pretty!

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.

I love to see the little beads of butternut squash “sap” appear when it’s cut

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.

Kristen as a child, sitting in her uncle's lap.

me and the uncle who had the Kentucky house (the same uncle Lisey lived with for a year of her aviation mechanic school!)

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. 🙂

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Monday 23rd of December 2024

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!

Elisabeth

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.

Lynn

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.

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.

Kristen

Woohoo for a week off! Enjoy!

Cindi

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.