I talk often about struggles we may have as we manage our High Sensitivity, because I love to help others minimize those. That’s all valid, and there are many things that can help us move from just surviving to thriving.
One of the keys to thriving is being aware of and acknowledging all of the ways being Highly Sensitive adds to our lives. As humans, we have a default mechanism for paying more attention to what’s not working than what is. It’s great to be aware of what we want to be different, and allow that to be motivating toward change, but it’s not conducive to feeling ok about ourselves, and our trait.
How can we reframe our thoughts about High Sensitivity so we don’t focus on the challenges as much, to give ourselves room for noticing the positives?
What if we tell others…and ourselves:
~I’m very attuned to my environment and those around me and very little slips by my attention.
~I have a strong level of compassion, often know what others need and can offer valuable understanding and support.
~I’m a great, loyal friend.
~I have a high level of self-awareness and strong connection with my intuition.
~My ability to see all sides of a situation allow me to be an invaluable employee, boss and/or leader.
And Highly Sensitives often don’t realize that many of our skills, habits and actions that we don’t have to think about, that are automatic, are a direct result of our sensitivity level. It’s easy to assume that these are inherent to everyone; we may think, “That’s not a big deal, anyone would do (or say) that.” This is often not the case. What feels natural to us sometimes isn’t even considered by non-HSPs.
There are so many benefits of high sensitivity, benefits the world really needs. To thrive in general, it can be helpful to use a ‘positives’ journal to keep track of everything that you do that goes well, all of your little successes, no matter how small. For HSPs it helps to include every time you realize one of your compliments or successes was related directly with your High Sensitivity…and then celebrate that!
I hope these tips will help you celebrate your Sensitivity. It truly is a gift. If you’re struggling and would like some guidance, you can schedule a free consult to see if coaching can help.