Superpowered
We have POWER! Superpowered: Transform Anxiety into Courage, Confidence, and Resilience by Dr. Shefali Tsabary and Renee Jain is an amazing resource to help young adults, parents, and teachers reframe anxiety, reconnect with our power, and build resilience. Superpowered teaches that we are born with 5 superpowers: being present, original, whole, energized, and resilient. Different life experiences zap our superpowers, and we start what-offing, camouflaging, cocooning, feeling fried, and being frozen with fear. Superpowered teaches 4 steps for addressing anxiety and is full of strategies, and activities for building resilience by reconnecting with our superpowers and each other.
Our POWER is in being present, original, whole, energized, and resilient.
Present: we are explorers with the power to be engaged in the moment. Life experiences zap our present power and leave us what-iffing and doubling ourselves based on regrets from the past or fears for the future. Superpowered teaches how we can use mindfulness to reconnect with the present and our power in it.
Original: we are each unique with a curiosity to understand what makes us who we are. Life experiences zap our original power and leave us camouflaging and trying to be someone else. Superpowered teaches how we can find our own voice and reconnect with the power of being original.
Whole: we can love ourselves with a deep sense of inner worth. Life experiences zap our power of being whole and leave us cocooning, playing it safe, and not taking chances to avoid being criticized. Superpowered teaches how we can find a true place of belonging and authenticity and feel whole again.
Energized: our enthusiasm is a great motivator to explore and grow. Life experiences zap our energy power and leave us feeling fried, overwhelmed, overworked, and overscheduled. Superpowered teaches how we can pursue meaning to break through the overwhelm and reconnect with our power of energy.
Resilient: we grow by taking risks and overcoming challenges. Life experiences zap our resilience and leave use feeling iced or frozen with fear of putting ourselves out there and making mistakes. Superpowered teaches how we can build a growth mindset to reconnect with our power of resilience.
I especially love how the book reframes anxiety. Feelings of anxiety and worry are not inherently bad, and trying to avoid them robs us of the lessons they are here to teach. Superpowered teaches four steps for how to address anxiety: notice, welcome in, break down, and refute:
Notice: We can notice anxiety by saying to ourselves or another “It looks like you are worried” or “Are you feeling worried?”
Welcome in: we can welcome anxiety. The worry is there to tell us something, so it’s important to understand it’s message.
Break down: We can break down anxiety by listening deeply for its message and its learning opportunity. For example, if the anxiety is saying “There’s no way you can do this,” we can listen deeply to hear the underlying message “You are not strong or smart enough.”
Refute: We can refute anxiety's message by asking “Is that true?” and recalling instances that challenge it. For example, we can recall instances when we were smart and strong such as that time we learned something new, tried a challenging exercise, or faced another fear.
Challenges are all around us, and many of us feel anxious. Feeling worried does not make us stupid or weak. It means we are about to learn something by facing a challenge. And facing that challenge is what reconnects us with our powers and builds resilience.
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