The Activist for Activists. Author of Make a Difference with Mental Health Activism and The Happy Activist: Journey the 5-Step Activism Path to Focus Your Passion and Change the World. Teacher, Psychologist, Environmental Activist, Animal Lover.
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Last Updated on January 17, 2025
What are your superpowers? This post will show you how to use your superpowers for civic engagement to support the election. Leadership is important. Since there are many barriers to voter turnout, we must do all we can to get out the vote. But you can make a difference with your superpowers.
What is a Superpower?
Of course, I am not talking about telekinesis and such, although that would be awesome.
Instead, think of your superpowers as the things you do well. You might be the person everyone goes to when they help with their garden. Or perhaps you excel at caricatures. Are you the person who gets assigned to make the agenda and plan the meeting? Planning is one of your superpowers.
Find Your Superpowers
Mark Henson, the author of Ordinary Superpowers: Unleash The Full Potential of Your Most Natural Talents, provides a path for identifying your unique gifts. He recommends asking yourself the ‘6 Questions that Reveal your Superpowers.’
When it comes to applying your superpowers to civic engagement, Henson’s Question #5 is an excellent place to reflect:
“What do you do that makes a difference?
Some of our activities and abilities are simply more fulfilling than others. Which ones for you make you feel like you make a difference? Which ones do you feel change something (or someone) in a positive way?”
Henson’s examples include feeling like you make a difference when you making people laugh. When you comfort people who are hurting. And when you help others with work.
“What do you do to make a difference?” is a great question to ask yourself. You need to find a way to make a difference in the world that matches your superpowers and keeps you motivated in tough times.
[Start your activism journey today.]
Apply Your Superpowers to Your Cause
I checked in with Henson about superpowers and activism. He helps many people live a superpowered life. I was curious about how they translate their superpowers to service, activism, and civic engagement.
“Do people who live a superpowered life work on making a difference in the world? The answer is 100%, absolutely yes. Do they proactively volunteer and participate in activism? Some do, sure. I’ve had many people in my workshops talk about how they use their superpowers MORE in the volunteer activities than in their jobs.
However, making a difference in the world comes in many forms. For some people, using their superpowers in their jobs makes a huge difference in the world. For others, they may make a difference through volunteerism. Some may use their superpowers to create a fantastic home and raise a healthy family. Others still may use their superpowers to help their next door neighbors and build community on their street.”
So, Henson believes you should start by finding your ordinary superpowers. Then, it likely that service, activism, or civic engagement will follow naturally from living a superpowered life.
Mobilize to Get Out The Vote
Perhaps you are engaged in an activism cause outside of politics. Please mobilize for the election. You can probably find a place to contribute that taps into your superpowers, and that can make an impact. If you want to make a difference in the election, now is the time to discover your superpowers and use them in political activism.
Use Your Gifts
One step in my activism path is to match your skills, knowledge, and motivation to activism opportunities. Using your gifts means you will be more effective and motivated in your activism work. For Henson, using your ordinary superpowers means more impact for a cause.
“I am a big believer that our highest level of contribution ALWAYS comes from finding ways to plug in with our ordinary superpowers. I also believe we would actually need far fewer volunteers in many instances if people volunteered their superpowers to causes and organizations that need help (and those organizations could put them to good use).
Activism and volunteerism still rely heavily on “warm bodies” — the more people we have, then the more we can do. I get that sometimes we have to do what needs to be done, but that approach is horribly inefficient and often not very satisfying for the volunteer.
If I can volunteer my superpowers and I feel like it makes a difference, I am also much more likely to do it again.”
Engagement Works
Henson echoes what Hahrie Hahn found in her research on civic engagement. Successful organizations ensure activists are engaged at the highest level of skill they possess and for which they feel the most motivation.
Get creative to help get out the vote. Spoiler alert: It is not just canvassing. It might be holding a block party to help neighbors make a voting plan. Or using your artistic superpower to make yard signs. Perhaps you have a great network of contacts that can help you phone bank.
Where are you going to make a difference? Find your part in serving your democracy. Perhaps you will find your superpowers and change the world.
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Mark Henson is the chief imagination officer of sparkspace, a company that sparks new thinking with its unique conference space and inspirational programs for teams and individuals. Get a free copy of Henson’s book, Ordinary Superpowers. The purpose of the book is to help you discover the talents that create the most positive change in your life, the lives of others, and the world around you.
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