Dear Superhero, Beware of Your Kryptonite

In Guidepost 14, we explored how to identify your Superpowers—the unique strengths that energize you, align with your values, and help you lead with authenticity. Without recognizing these, your greatest gifts will be compromised.

And make no mistake—this matters more than ever. Because no superhero is coming to save the day. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.

The world is aching for courage, for clarity, for people willing to rise in their strength. That’s why it’s time—right now—for you to step forward, fully powered, and help shape what comes next.

But there’s a catch.

Even superheroes have weaknesses.
Even you, with all your brilliance, must watch for your own version of kryptonite.

To truly live from your Superpowers, you must understand two things that can block or
drain them:

1. Your weaknesses — the traits or tendencies that consistently trip you up.
2. Your pseudo strengths — the things you’re good at, even praised for, but that slowly hollow you out.

Without recognizing these, your greatest gifts will be compromised.

Kryptonite #1: Unmanaged Weaknesses

Psychologist Dr. Thomas Chamorro-Premuzic argues that the biggest threat to high performers isn’t lack of talent, it’s a lack of self-awareness. What he and I have come to learn is that unchecked weaknesses can sabotage careers, relationships, and purpose. In short, our superpowers only go so far before we’re held back by unmitigated weakness.

That’s not an invitation to obsess over your flaws. It’s a call to manage them strategically. Here’s how:

• Build systems that prevent missteps.
• Create feedback loops that keep you grounded in how well you mitigate weaknesses.
• Adjust environments so your weaknesses don’t get center stage.
• Craft strategies to manage your weaknesses and keep them in check so your strengths can shine.

Keep in mind that you don’t need to “fix” every weakness. You need to keep it from taking the wheel.

Why Weaknesses Are Dangerous:

Many of us have been told that to be strong, we must turn our weaknesses into strengths. This has become known, in the area of Positive Psychology, as a huge myth and a waste of time. Weaknesses will never become strengths. Our job is to work to manage them once we know what they are. We must be wise to only manage to a certain degree. Weaknesses will drain our energy, time, and talent if we spend too much effort focusing on them.

Audit your Weaknesses:

Take a moment now to answer these questions. They are crafted to assist you to identify weaknesses. And trust me, we all have them. Most of us, if we’re honest, are painfully aware of our weaknesses. Perhaps even more aware of them than we are, our Superpowers.

1. What tasks or projects are things you know you have very little talent for?
2. What are you doing when you know, no matter how much you try, you can’t improve your ability to perform the task to become world-class?
3. What are you doing when you feel weak, drained, and less competent than you want to?
4. What are you doing when you know you can improve, but only to a limited extent?

Keep your notes for later. I’ll ask you to take action before we wrap up this Guidepost. You may choose to mitigate against a weakness in order to allow your Superpowers to shine.

Kryptonite #2: Pseudo Strengths

Pseudo strengths are trickier than weaknesses. They look like strengths from the outside. You might even build a career or reputation with them. But inside? They drain you.

These are skills or roles where you excel… but feel:

• Exhausted
• Disconnected
• Like you’re performing instead of living

You may be rewarded for staying calm under pressure, fixing problems, or being the go-to rock for others. But if these don’t light you up, they’re not true Superpowers—they’re Pseudo Strengths. And using them to an excess is a primary cause of burnout. Yes, burnout.

Why Pseudo Strengths Are Dangerous:

1. They keep you stuck. You resist leaving a role that everyone says you’re “so
   good at.”
2.  They feed you false information. You’re succeeding, but it doesn’t feel
   authentic or satisfying.
3. They block your real strengths. There’s no room left for what restores and
   excites you. There’s no room to excel.

A Mini-Audit: Is This a Pseudo Strength?

Take 15 minutes. Grab a journal. Let’s go inward.

Step 1: Identify Your “Rewarded but Drained” Potential

List 3–5 things you’re regularly praised or relied on for. Then ask:

• Do I enjoy this or just endure it?
• Do I feel energized or depleted afterward?
• If no one expected this of me, would I still choose it?

Note: If your honest answer is, “I’m just good at it, but I’d quit tomorrow if I could”—flag it.

Step 2: Notice A Potential “Performer Mask”

Fill in the blanks:

• I often show up as ____________ to earn approval or keep the peace.
• I’ve built a reputation around ____________, but it doesn’t reflect my true self.
• The part of my day that feels the least like “me” is ____________.

Step 3: Ask Your Body

Your body knows what drains you. Reflect:

• What tasks make your shoulders tense or breath shallow?
• Where do you feel dread or numbness, even when succeeding?
• What feels like obligation rather than choice?
• What feels like if you have to do this for the rest of your life you’ll burnout?

Step 4: Craft a Permission Slip

“I give myself permission to loosen my grip on ____________________, even though I’ve been praised for it.”

Note: Your energy level matters more than your performance level when identifying Pseudo Strengths.

Action: What Now?

Choose one insight and turn it into action:

• I acknowledge this as a weakness/pseudo strength: _____________
• It shows up most when: _____________
• It impacts me and others by: _____________
• Instead of “fixing” it, I will:
  • Delegate or co-create around it
  • Set firmer boundaries
  • Build a “just enough” level of skill
  • Minimize its exposure
  • Let go of pretending it’s a gift

Let’s Bring This One Home:

It’s not enough to know your strengths.
You must guard them. Nurture them. Free them from the grip of what depletes you.

Weaknesses don’t need to be fixed. Pseudo strengths don’t need to be clung to. But both must be faced—honestly, courageously—if you want to live and lead with integrity and power. The real danger isn’t that you’ll fall short.

It’s that you’ll succeed at the wrong things and slowly lose yourself in the process.

So, here’s the invitation:

Choose power over performance.
Truth over praise.
Vitality over approval.

Because the world doesn’t need another burned-out hero. It needs you—fully alive, fiercely aligned, and strong in the right places.

In the next Guidepost, we’ll dive into how you can find your version of these “right places.”