Highly sensitive people process stimulation deeply. Sensory experiences can be overwhelming. Often very intuitive individuals and easily overexcited.
It is not a personality flaw or a syndrome but rather a set of traits that shape a person’s experience of life. Having increased responsiveness to both positive and negative influences can be both advantageous and challenging.
Sensitivity can be a gift to be embraced as a superpower, or a drawback when we are so easily offended or over-reactive to daily stressors or relationship issues. Sensitive souls can find it easier to navigate the world when we are able to recognize our sensitivity. By self-monitoring, we can learn to manage the characteristics we’ve identified and make them more of a power and less of a trial in our life.
Navigating Life
Accepting our strengths and weaknesses by increasing our self-awareness can help to wipe out any feelings of incapability. If we know our strengths, we know when to apply them in the right circumstances. If we know our weaknesses, we can acknowledge them and stop ourselves from reacting inappropriately to a situation.
Being self-aware means we have a clear knowledge of who we are and how we relate to the world. It involves being emotionally and mentally present in situations and understanding how our reactions affect others. It enables us to be more realistic about ourselves and our judgments. Knowing our moods and emotions well is crucial to effective interaction with others.
Sensitivity has historically been viewed as a weakness and brute force as a strength. But a shift is happening with the next generation and sensitivity is being embraced as a resource. So we need to address our own attitude towards our empathetic nature, learn how to respect our boundaries, and not be so critical of ourselves. We have the right to be seen, heard, and valued.
Empowerment
By making the right choices for ourselves and transforming those choices into desired outcomes, we start embodying the process of self-empowerment. So it’s important to understand ourselves and how we are likely to respond. Introspection can be a vital component of positive change in life.
Assessing our strengths can give us a different view of ourselves and set us on an alternative life path. As we begin to understand our values we can learn to play to our strengths.
Discovering our unique gifts can impact our home and work life. Our sensitivity and creativity make us who we are and career opportunities for growth may present, taking us in a completely different direction.
Or perhaps a caring profession is better suited to our compassion and intuitive awareness – whatever we choose our path to excellence is through our power, not our weaknesses.
It takes courage to embrace who we truly are and what we really need and want in life. A sensitive person possesses so many wonderful qualities. Being free to accept and express our sensitivity we can begin to discover the benefits of who we are and enjoy this new opportunity to flourish.