The Superpower I Did Not Know I Had

For the past few weeks, I have been reflecting on my journey. Not because I planned to. Not because I was searching for answers. But because certain thoughts kept rattling around in my head, refusing to leave me alone. How did I get here? How did a woman who simply wanted to improve her health end up in the last 6 years earning her Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate through e-Cornell, a Food and Sustainability Certificate, became an accredited Lifestyle Coach, and a moderator at the Center for Nutrition Studies, built a website, created a private FB group and somehow became The Accidental Blogger?

The answer shocked me. It was not intelligence, and it was not confidence and for sure it was not a perfectly crafted plan or because I always knew what I was doing. Trust me I did not. What I discovered was something far less exciting and far more powerful. What was it you ask? So simple but so hard. I just kept showing up one day after another. One class. One book. One meeting. One conversation. One blog. Yes I did. Think one scary, uncomfortable step after another. At the time, none of those individual actions felt particularly significant. Some felt small, some awkward, and most downright terrifying.

I often questioned who I was and what I was doing. I wondered if I was wasting my time, I considered heading back to the comfort of familiar ground. I did not, because something kept nudging me onward. I simply got up every morning for 6 years and kept on keeping on. I took the next step and then the next and the next. Looking back now, I can clearly see something I completely missed while I was living it.

The accomplishments were not built by giant leaps. The certificates were not earned in a weekend, the coaching skills were not developed in a month. The confidence did not arrive one magical morning. The blogs did not write themselves. Nope. It all happened because I kept showing up every day.

It all kind of reminds me of planting a seed. You do not stand over it every morning demanding results. You water that seed. You give it sunlight. You trust the process. And then one day you realize it has grown.

Perhaps that is why so many people underestimate themselves. They are looking for dramatic evidence of progress while overlooking the quiet work happening beneath the surface. I learned that just because it is taking a long time, it does not mean it is not happening. It is happening, just taking longer than you wanted it to. If you do not stop, you cannot lose. Just do not quit no matter what.

As I approach my 84th birthday, one of the greatest gifts of reflection has been recognizing that I am ok as "me". I do not need a new personality. I do not need special talents. I do not need permission. What brought me to today was something wonderfully ordinary. I kept going. It was non-negotiable. And for sure it was not perfect, or graceful, or easy, or without mistakes and sacrifices. I simply stayed in the game. Perhaps that is the real lesson.

Sometimes the thing we admire most in others is not a talent at all. It is a habit. A choice. A willingness to keep showing up long after the newness and excitement fades. For years I thought I was searching for confidence. What I was actually building was evidence. Yup that is right, evidence. Evidence that I could learn and grow and do hard things. Evidence that I could trust myself. And all of it was created one ordinary day at a time over 6 years. Who knew?

The Accidental Blogger may have been developing a superpower all along. Not flying. Just showing up. Again and again and again.

Looking back on your own life, what achievement, skill, relationship, or personal growth was built not by talent but by simply showing up consistently over time?

The Accidental Blogger

💚 Suz