How to Put Your Sensitivity
to Work for You
As a highly sensitive person (HSP), we are part of the population's 15% to 20% of people born with a nervous system that processes information and sensory data with greater depth and subtlety. We feel and perceive more. And while sensitivity isn't the Western world's ideal, it is our advantage.
Here are six ways to put your sensitivity to work for you:
1. Stop seeking permission and approval.
Especially from the 80% to 85% of non-HSPs who tend to think that we should "toughen up," and "not be so sensitive." This is like asking a fair-skinned person to "darken up," and stop burning in the sun. Ridiculous, right? No more ridiculous than us trying to suppress and negate our sensitivity. So, the first step is for us to stop making apologies for our finely tuned nervous system!
2. Rather than adapting to others, assert yourself.
Sensitivity is not weak. Gentle and refined, perhaps. But not weak. And our over-stimulated world actually benefits from our innate sense of calm and peace. By embodying these qualities, we add them to our environments and interactions with others. A little silk to go with all that sandpaper :-)
3. Be aware of your sensitivities, and the heightened awareness they bring you. Do not underestimate or undervalue these insights. Put them to good and profitable use.
As an example, I've noticed the following preferences and practices within myself and other HSPs:
Aesthetics
Beauty
Compassion
Contemplation
Creativity
Diplomacy
Discretion
Equilibrium
Gentleness
Growth-Orientation
Harmony
Idealism
Innovation
Intuition
Justice
Meaning-Making
Noble Motives
Originality
Peacefulness
Reverence for Nature
Wisdom
4. We like to focus, so we should.
Our long attention spans and insatiable curiosity help us to develop wide ranges of knowledge and expertise. The attention-deficient world we live in marvels at our ability to keep our minds wrapped around an idea, subject or task for hours on end. This is an asset for us to leverage.
5. We like to create, so we should.
Our robust inner lives often produce very beautiful, enlivening expressions. Rather than repeat and report what has already been done before, we are far more likely to present fresh, original material. Inspiration and imagination are natural states in which we reside. This is an asset for us to leverage.
6. We like to heal/help, so we should.
Our compassion and tenderheartedness leads us to find ways to heal ourselves and others. Because our 'skin' is not tough and calloused, we feel and perceive subtleties that others overlook. Or ignore. We know how to skillfully respond to hurts, and this is an asset for us to leverage.
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