There is a moment in everyone’s career—and life—when the floor drops out. The deal falls through. The project gets rejected. When things go wrong, it’s easy to feel abandoned by the universe. What if all this is a Signal. There should be a concept that God is too busy to solve everyone’s issue. So, he has given everyone a superpower to recognise signals to get there. (For the atheists, God refers to a concept and religion is popularly known as ‘belief’).
Think about it.
- That project that failed? Signal. It’s telling you that your approach needs recalibration. Your superpower is adaptability.
- That criticism that stung? Signal. It’s telling you that you have an opportunity to grow thicker skin and refine your craft. Your superpower is resilience.
- That unexpected career detour? Signal. It’s telling you that the path you were on wasn’t the destination; the detour is. Your superpower is navigation.
World sometimes seems to be working on a zero-sum game. One person’s problem is another’s opportunity. The very thing that feels like a crisis for you might be the exact platform someone else is praying for. If you think you deserve to get the deal, you are praying also that someone else doesn’t get it. When we believe that we here to solve problems—not just to exist comfortably—we stop fearing the “messy middle.”
How I activate my superpower when confidence wavers:
- Pause and Decode the Signal: Instead of asking “Why me?”, I ask “What solution is required here that only I can provide?” This shifts the brain from victim mode to creator mode.
- Reframe the Problem as Equity: I remind myself that if I solve this hard thing, I own the solution. This difficulty is then my entry ticket to the next level.
- Speak to the Power: I remind myself, “I have been here before. Not in this exact situation, but in the arena of uncertainty. I know how to fight. I know how to think.” Confidence isn’t the absence of fear; it’s the recollection of past victories over fear.
- Move Forward in Faith: When you believe that your issues are divinely placed puzzles for you to solve, you move with a different type of swagger. You stop waiting for permission to be great. You start executing.
The world doesn’t need people who never fail. The world needs people who fail, feel the signal, activate their superpower, and get back up to solve the next big thing.
Captain Pappu Sastry.
