Your regrets are your superpower.

They make you stronger, surer, and so much smarter.

With a few regrets under your belt, you can leap tall fears in a single bound.

Why? Because you are no longer afraid to fail. Or make hard choices. Or bravely face your limitations. You’ve been there and done that.

Your regrets are your birthright. That’s right, you owe it to yourself to screw up and share the story. Don’t hide them. You earned them and they deserve to shine. No Clark-Kenting those babies. Let them don a red cape and fly as a symbol of how far you’ll go to live life boldly. And fail spectacularly.

All in the name of living an authentic life.

All this talk on social media and self-help books about living a life with no regrets? Don’t buy it.

You should regret things. You should want to take back some stuff you did in college. Why wouldn’t you wish you’d apologized to that friend before they died.

Otherwise, you run the risk of being really insensitive and a little too self-focused. You screwed up. Own it. It’s good for you.

Allow your regrets to serve as a reminder of why it’s important not to wait too long, suppress what makes you happy, or ever withhold love.

Now, having said all that, I know some specific, long-held regrets popped into your mind the minute you read the word.

A face or place you wanted to know better occurred to you. Or something you really wished you hadn’t said flashed through your thoughts. The sting of it in the pit in your belly may still live inside you. Still, should you be sorry those things ever happened?

The sense that you should punish yourself by regretting your regrets is pretty unproductive.

Wouldn’t you be more powerful if you just let it go? I know it’s easy for me to say, “Don’t sweat it. Your regrets are good for you.”

But it’s not a careless comment. It’s an empowering, careful directive to accept what is, what isn’t, and what those things make of you. You don’t have to act like you have no regrets or spend time feeling sorry that they exist.

Would Clark Kent have experienced half his glorious triumphs, loves, and lessons if he’d spent his early years regretting the fact that he was considered weird in high school?

It’s too easy to think of regrets as weakness, Kryptonite if you will.

We too often want to be Supermen and Wonderwomen without the growing pains or “weak” moments.

Those Clark Kent and Diana Prince personas make the crusaders all the more beloved. When the cape and lasso are put away, they bumble and fidget, and mess up royally. They let people down, regret their mistakes, and are more human because of it. And at the same time, the power within them grows.

Why? Because the best thing about those superheroes is that they are blessed with humility. And humility is often born from a knock to our pride, a self-inflicted wound, or some ill-timed decision we were certain was a sure thing.

Clark and Diana are kind and capable of grasping the pain of others. They know regret and use it to lead, protect, and seek justice for all. No time to waste on wishing they’d never endured pain or shame. You have the same superpower.

Your regrets can shape your purpose and perspective.

How can you regret your regrets when they make you more apt to say I love you before it’s too late? Why would you begrudge yesterday’s missteps when they cause you to walk with more wisdom?

All in all, your regrets are good for you and those who walk with you. So, wear your cape of regrets well. Acknowledge and honor them.

Keep living life and keep messing up. It’s the human thing to do. And the best way to be the hero or heroine in your own life.