If You Could Choose to have a SuperPower, What Would it be?

“Superman is a work of fiction and no man has his super powers but if you could choose to have one super power, what would you choose?”

This was the question posed the other day to a small group I was in. It is one of those juicy and thoughtful questions to which there could be many answers; a question which gets the imagination flowing but also a question which could trip you into cliched thinking. So what Super Power would you choose?

1. Flying. Would it not be great to be able to fly? You could avoid the traffic on your commute to work, you could take the shortcut over buildings or hills rather than walk around or over them. Just think of the time you’d save. How would it feel, though, flying in bad weather? How much energy would flying sap compared to walking? How much food would you need to consume in order to have enough energy? How might other commuters reacty if they saw you flying freely over their snarled traffic? Would your ability raise envy and resentment? Would it create enemies rather than friends?
2. X-Ray Vision. Ah yes, that old boyhood fantasy; the ability to see what lies underneath. The ability to see through walls could be useful at times, I’m sure; people could not keep their actions secret from you. You would see and know things other people do not and you could use that to your advantage. Could you, though, reveal how you came by such knowledge? Would you feel as if you are always spying on people, would people feel as if you are always spying on them? How mighty this affect your relationships, after all are these not built upon trust?
3. Invisibility. There may be times when we’d like to be invisible; to be present but unknown to others present. Invisibility would allow us to move around without anyone noticing us. Have you considered how it might work, though, at an automatic door; one which senses your presence and opens automatically as you approach. Ouch, I can just imagine the broken nose as you walk into the glass!
4. Immortality. The ability to live forever might seem fantastic. To live without the threat of death might be fantastic. Consider, though, what immortality might mean; it could well mean immortality from natural death but not from accidental or man-made death (such as death in a car crash). Consider also if you had immortality but other people did not, you would lead you life seeing people, including friends and lovers, come and age and eventually pass away. Would that be such a great life?
5. Super Strength. There may be many times when each of us wished we were stronger than we are. Just think how useful super strength could be, not only when undoing a tightly screwed jar but also in lifting a car to get a ball/animal/person out from underneath. Would super strength, though, not just mark you out as a freak as something for entertainment value mostly? You could earn money by demonstrating your strength on TV, in a circus show, which could be useful. It might be useful in saving lives in a rescue attempt but, I suspect, not as often or as much as you’d think.

Okay, so now it’s time to own up, what was the answer I gave to the question above? If I had just one super power, it would be the ability to always make the right decision. I’m sure we can all think back to times when we’ve made one decision only later to wish we had decided something else. Times, too, when we are uncertain which decision to make. Sometimes we avoid making any decision at all for fear perhaps of making the wrong one. Having the super power to always make the right decision would, I’m sure, be a great boon to my life both in the past and in the future.

So, responses please, what superpower would you like? Can you see any advantages or disadvantages in having superpowers?