Power is a word often misunderstood. While some associate it with tyranny and abuse, true power lies in recognizing and owning your own agency, authority, and authenticity. It’s about knowing and embracing your strengths, gifts, and potential. Every woman has an inner superhero, a portal of power waiting to be tapped into. Superhero women exemplify this journey of discovering, embracing, and wielding their power confidently.
In short, it is your inner sense of knowing: yourself, your abilities, your limitations, and most importantly, your unlimitedness, that makes you powerful.
Lessons from Superhero Women
What These Superheroes Have In Common
Each one had to find her way. She had to tame the outside voices that told her to “blend in” and be “normal”. They each undertook the hero’s journey to stop hiding their powers and learn to stand confidently in it in order to decide to become themselves. Isn’t that true of every powerful woman?
Here’s what 7 superhero women can teach us about confidence:
1. Jean Grey: Embracing Your Full Potential
She is the most powerful mutant. She can levitate cars and stop missiles in dead air with her mind. Her power is so strong that she can barely control it. Yet, she harbors a secret protective sense that is better than bullet-proof, it can literally save her from herself.
Jean is wildly gifted. But, she is afraid of her power. Her lack of confidence is a core characteristic of her story because she learned to tuck her power away, hide it, suppress it so that it doesn’t take destructive control. And so that it doesn’t make “normal” people afraid. This meant that she has trouble trusting her power, honoring it, leaning into it. And because of this insecurity, she never feels at home in her power. Sound familiar?
Jean Grey, one of the most powerful mutants, can levitate cars and stop missiles with her mind. Her immense power is both her gift and her burden. Jean’s journey teaches us about the fear of our own potential. Often, we hide our abilities to avoid making others uncomfortable or out of fear of our own strength. Embrace your gifts and learn to control and channel them positively, just as Jean ultimately learns to do.
2. Mystique: The Power of Self-Acceptance
Mystique is a shapeshifter who exudes confidence and strength. However, her struggle for acceptance leads her down a darker path. Mystique’s story underscores the importance of self-acceptance. When you accept who you are, including your unique abilities and appearance, you unlock your true potential. Don’t let the need for external validation dictate your path.
She is beautiful, good-weird, strong, sexy, and confident. She knows who she is, what she wants and she refuses to hide except when it suits her own villainous purpose. In reality, she wants to be accepted but she has given up hope that regular people will ever truly see how she is uniquely special. Thus, she uses her powers mostly selfishly and for destruction. She is the archetype for every magnetic woman with power who could become so exponentially influential and impactful, if only she could tame her cynicism and stop self-sabotaging her efforts to get what she truly desires.
3. Violet: Overcoming the Fear of Being Seen
Born into superpower gifts, she can put a force-field around an aircraft and make herself invisible. She is thoughtful, snappy, and protective. Raised in a time when superpowers were considered evil, she is not afraid of her power. She is afraid to display her power. Her parents reinforce the conditioning to “be normal”. But, normal is not something she could ever be. She grows most confident when she learns that hiding who she is will not serve her and when she truly shows up, so does the boy that she was afraid to engage. She is the archetype for any woman who knows how strong she is but she has been trained to hide her gifts in order to make others feel safe.
Violet, from The Incredibles, can create force fields and turn invisible. Raised to hide her powers, she learns that embracing her abilities is essential to her growth. Violet’s journey highlights the conflict many women face: the desire to blend in versus the need to stand out. Embrace your uniqueness and don’t be afraid to show your true self to the world.
4. Storm: Leading with Grace and Strength
Storm, a natural leader with the power to control the weather, rises through the ranks due to her innate abilities and calm demeanor. She exemplifies the balance of power and compassion. Storm teaches us that true leadership comes from using your strengths to uplift others while also taking care of yourself.
She comes from a line of royalty. She was discovered probably because she was using her powers to take advantage of others. Not because she needed the money but simply because it was so easy for her. As an adult, she is a natural leader who rises through the ranks to be the right-hand and future successor of The Professor, the mutant who first created a safe place for all mutants. Storm is calm-natured but she can literally bring the rain whenever she desires to do so. She is the one who endeavors to keep everyone safe and will risk her life to save others but we never see her with a love interest of her own. She is Mother and the archetype for the strong woman whose natural abilities enable her to make a seemingly effortless rise as a leader, who is at home serving others but who struggles to prioritize herself.
5.Shuri: Innovating Through Adversity
Shuri, the brilliant sister of Black Panther, represents intelligence, curiosity, and resilience. Her journey into superheroism is marked by personal loss, which propels her to greatness. Shuri’s story encourages women to leverage their intellect and resilience, especially in male-dominated fields. Your pain can become a source of strength and innovation.
She is intelligent, curious, alert, and wise beyond her years. Her entry into the superhero realm is a call to action for female tech, math, and science geeks everywhere to say: Oh yes, you can!
But, Shuri didn’t plan to become a superhero, she preferred to hide in the lab. It was through three great tragedies that shook her world that thrust her onto the superhero path: the deaths of her father, her brother, and her mother. Through her pain she became. She is the archetype for the woman who prefers to defer her power to others but whose struggle and trauma make her uniquely qualified to lead others to impactful outcomes.
What you overcome can cause you to become.
Recognize Your Power
Embracing your inner superhero is about recognizing your inherent power and potential. By learning from these powerful female superheroes, you can unlock the confidence to live a life that is truly your own.
Can you see yourself in any of the superhero women mentioned above? You might be thinking: “I don’t think that I have power.” You might feel like if you did, your life would be different.
Would it surprise you to know that one common characteristic of powerful, high-achieving women is denial of their power? There is a sneaky link between being high-achieving and feeling like an imposter.
Many women don’t realize their own power. Here are some signs you might be more powerful than you think:
- You Are Often “The Only One”: Whether you’re the only woman in a meeting or the only person of color in a group, your unique perspective is a sign of your strength.
- You Excel Naturally: Tasks that are challenging for others come easily to you. This natural proficiency is a testament to your abilities.
- You Seem to Have It All Together: Others rely on you to get things done. Even when you feel chaotic, you manage to keep everything on track.
- You Create Solutions: In tough situations, you innovate and find unique ways to manage and succeed.
- Your Pain Empowers You: Your experiences with trauma make you more empathetic and driven to help others.
Unlock Your Inner Superhero
How can you bring your inner superhero woman out of hiding and live fully expressed?
- Acknowledge Your Achievements: Recognize and celebrate your successes. They are not mere coincidences but the result of your hard work and talent.
- Identify and Overcome Barriers: Understand what holds you back. Are you afraid of judgment? Do you downplay your gifts to make others comfortable? Identifying these barriers is the first step to overcoming them.
- Commit to Personal Growth: Engage in activities that build your confidence. Take courses, read empowering books, and seek mentorship to help you see and harness your potential.
- Heal from Past Trauma: Unhealed trauma can diminish your confidence. Seek therapy, practice mindfulness, and engage in self-care to address and heal from past wounds.
Final Thoughts
These superhero women showcase strength, resilience, and power in their unique ways, providing thoughtful inspiration for other women to become strong, independent, and confident.
Auxiliary Resources:
To further your journey of self-discovery and empowerment, consider the following resources:
- “The Pivot Year” by Brianna Wiest: A guide to transforming your life by embracing change and personal growth.
- The Knowing Woman: The confidence course for women.
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