Superhero Or Supervillain

If you suddenly received cosmic power, what would you do with it?
Your first thought may be in the "do-gooder" direction. But is that really your inclination? Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
What may happen is that you mete out some well-deserved punishment to some bad guys. Then you will start to mete out what you feel is right. Eventually you will do what is right for you. You will "deserve" what you take. Any who disagree will be enemies of right (and might).
This is why we like superheroes to be fictional. They don't get corrupted. And if they do, well at least it's fiction. In real life it would be scary. Who wants an unstoppable bad guy flying around doing whatever he wants?
So as much as I would like to be a superhero, I think it may be better for me to simply try to be awesome. Awesome people are cool. They do things that ordinary folks can't. And they live a life that amounts to something. But, if the awesomeness affects them and they go off the rails, there are ways to deal with them. You don't have to worry that a superstrong, invulnerable criminal is rampaging maniacally in the streets. And that is the way it should be.
So, don't dream of being super, just work hard to become awesome. You may not fly, or catch speeding bullets, but you can break records and smash limitations. And that, actually, can be pretty heroic.

Inner Superhero

The problem with superheroes is their lack of all-round ability and fortitude. I mean, if you're going to be a super, why not be 100% super?
Superman: Strong. Fast. Resilient. Often touted to be the best of the best. One word: Kryptonite.
The Hulk: Strong. Resilient. Gets more powerful as his anger grows. Two Words: Bruce Banner.
Spiderman: Strong. Agile. Spider sense. Two Words: Not Resilient.
The list goes on. Every hero has an achilles heel (ha!), a weakness that can be exploited. An enemy just has to strike the weakpoint, and its tickets. (although, for some reason the bad guys never really try to kill the hero. There are only botched attempts to exploit the weakness. Maybe it's because bad guys are not allowed to win by the laws of the universe). Perhaps this is an attempt to make ordinary people feel better about their own weakpoints.
It sucks. I want a superhero that is actually super. No weakpoints, no secret allergic reactions to allicin. A true honest-to-goodness invulnerability (including psychic power invulnerability).
Throw in super-speed, super-strength, flight and you have the makings of a superhero that will kick every other superheroes butt. There are several other powers that can be thrown in for good measure.
I don't think this hero will find much support. Why? Because we actually want to see the hero overcome the weakness, or win in spite of having it. We need to see him do it so that we might feel, even for a second, that no matter how big our issues, we can also overcome if we use our inner hero.
I think deep down we all want to be a superhero. Not because we want to be more powerful than a steaming locomotive (some of us do), but because we want to believe we have the power to overcome our limits.
Our limits seem so rigid, so set in stone that it would take a super-power to break through them. In reality the only power usually required is willpower.
If you knuckle down, believe in yourself and simply hang in there when the going gets tough, you can overcome those limits. So, you can be a superhero. You can overcome your limits. All you have to do is apply your super-power (aka willpower).
Break through those limits.

Where is a Super when you need one?

There are times when you shake your head and say "If only I had [Insert Superhero]'s power".
I was standing on the platform waiting for the train to arrive. After nearly 20min of standing around trying not to look anybody in the eye, (why are there such weird people around nowadays?), we were boarded onto a different train that had been standing around sheepishly all the time. Well, I assume it was feeling sheepish because that's how I would've felt if I was in that position.
It took 20min to figure out that we could just use a different train? I will assume that lateral thinking is not the railway speciality.
Anyway, the reason I mentioned Superhero Powers is for the dramatically simple solution they would provide to everyday issues.
Train late? I'll fly home. Or run home like The Flash.
Lawn not mown? I'll use my laser vision to give it a trim.
Low on cash? I'll just pull a cash disenser from the wall... Um, ok, maybe super powers won't be the greatest idea. Power corrupts as they say.
So, I suppose I'll just have to deal with annoyances and setbacks. Dang it! If only I could control the thoughts of other people to get things to work more smoothly. But then, how would I refrain from making everyone obey my every command? Guess being "normal" is safer for everybody...

Off Topic

Every now and then I may fall off the rails and post something that has nothing to do with exercise. (gasp!).
I've been pondering superhero status today. I know, I should get over this obsession with impossibility. But I've been thinking more along the lines of Captain America ("possible"), rather than Superman ("impossible").
Being a son of Krypton is simply beyond what a human being can accomplish, and is reserved for movies, comics and boyhood fantasy.
Cap, on the other hand, is pretty normal. He's just a guy pimped out with some cool gear and pumped up by some funky drugs. This is at least within the realms of possibility.
So after much soul-searching and day-dreaming, I've finally accepted that Cap is the superhero to try duplicate as my uber achievement. (I draw the line at running around in a silly blue and red outfit however).
What this means is that I will break the Cap's superhero makeup into attributes, and work on those in my training.
Cap Attribute 1: Strength. Wow, amazing how that works out. That just happens to be my current goal. What symmetry! (I accept that my strength will be less due to my desire to achieve without steroids).
More thoughts on achievable superhero-ness to follow... And workout 3.
Yeah, yeah in the end the post is still about exercise. I'm not perfect. I'm not even Captain MDV yet. Get over it.
Early days, but the plan is starting to take shape...