#179: Make Your Sensitivity Your Superpower
If you’ve ever been told you are “too sensitive” or felt overwhelmed by the energy in the world around you, then this episode is for you because I’m going to share how your sensitivity could be your greatest superpower!
What is a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP)?
As highly sensitive people, we just tend to feel things more deeply. We also process information more thoroughly and react more to external stimuli.
How Being Sensitive Makes You Stronger
This sensitivity holds incredible power. The depth of feeling, the intensity of empathy, and our sharp awareness that comes with being highly sensitive are strengths to be utilized and celebrated.
How You Can Make Your Sensitivity Your Superpower
Build awareness around being a Highly Sensitive personality type - or an HSP
Develop an understanding of who you are: what are your likes and dislikes, what are you good at, and what situations or people tend to be more challenging to navigate.
Release shame and judgment about your sensitivity and understand the world needs the empathy, compassion, and depth that highly sensitive individuals like us bring.
This self-awareness allows us to navigate our lives and businesses with more ease. It also gives us more confidence to believe in those aspects of ourselves that are truly powerful.
Highly sensitive persons (HSPs) have a wide range of education and experiences. We are curious, intelligent, and growth-oriented - which makes us excel in leadership roles.
2. Leverage Your Sensitivity
As HSPs, we have this ability to solve problems due to our depth of processing. But we need space in our schedules to make that happen. When we permit ourselves to follow the type of path we’re best suited for, we bring an intuitive approach that is hard to replicate.
When you have an understanding and respect for your limits and growing the right kind of company, or choosing the right career path for you - one that leaves a margin for you to shine.
As HSPs, our sensitivity is not just a personal trait. It's a lens through which we experience and impact the world. When used correctly, it can lead to profound insights, creative solutions and deeply fulfilling work.
As a highly sensitive person (HSP), I've personally discovered the immense value of using my sensitivity as a superpower. This has been especially true in my consulting work. I get compensated well to go deep into challenging problems, many of which were left unsolved before I got involved.
3. Build an Aligned Business
The third step in transforming our sensitivity into a superpower involves balancing sensitivity at work.
The challenge is that Highly Sensitive Persons (HSPs) find chaotic work environments and overly stressful career paths taxing the nervous system.
There are multiple ways to build a business that aligns your sensitive nature with the ability to grow a low-stress, multi-million dollar business that honors your gifts.
I’ve found consulting to be freedom-based, with a minimal team and ample time for spaciousness.
The key to this is embracing our roles as ambitious, sensitive personalities. We can have both because the value we bring is not just in WHAT we do. It's also in HOW we do it – with sensitivity.
Next Steps
Learning to leverage your sensitivity in the right way can transform both your personal life and your business.
If you’d like to get started building your own consulting business that leverages your strengths in alignment with your ambitions to grow a profitable, low stress business, head over to Consulting Quick Start and follow my top 10 actionable steps on how to grow a successful consulting business.
Listen to the Show:
Laura Meyer 00:00
For those of us who are deeply sensitive, sometimes it can feel like a very heavy burden to bear. We are profoundly impacted by the world around us. And it's not uncommon to feel a sense of shame or embarrassment around our sensitivity. And if you've ever been sensitive to the discomfort, disapproval or anger of others, you might have found yourself just trying to follow every rule in order to keep the peace. Maybe people noticed your sensitivity from a young age, or you might have been labeled as too sensitive. As a child, I was often criticized for being hypersensitive. And when this happens, we learn to suppress this aspect of ourselves, we're conditioned to believe it's more of a hindrance than it is a help.
Laura Meyer 00:45
Welcome to The Abundant Life podcast where the paths of entrepreneurship, personal growth and wellness intersect. I'm your host, Laura Meyer, and I'm here to guide you on a journey to a life and business filled with abundance. So, let's get started on this journey together and discover how to live abundantly and both business and life.
Laura Meyer 01:12
What if I told you that this sensitivity could actually be your greatest superpower being highly sensitive is way more common than we realize approximately 20% of the population, that's one in five people, are considered HSPs, or highly sensitive personality types. Some people think that sensitivity is all about emotional reactions. But those emotional reactions typically come from feeling deeply about that. And that deep sea of emotion has a wide range of experience as highly sensitive people, we just tend to feel things more deeply. We also process information more thoroughly, and we have a stronger reaction to external stimuli. I remember when I was a child, my mom had to carry me out of the movie, Bambi screaming when Bambi's mother was killed. I still think of that as one of the saddest moments in movie history. Disney. What were you thinking all joking aside as HSPs we often experience life in a way that can feel almost other worldly. We're very aware of subtleties in our environment. A lot of times these shifts can be physical, they can be emotional or social. I can usually sense when something is off, and when I push the feeling away, it is always confirmed by the truth being highly sensitive brings about many unique strengths.
Laura Meyer 02:29
However, it can also lead to feeling completely overwhelmed in situations where other people seem to navigate it with ease. I remember as a child trying to figure out why some things just seemed harder for me to process than it was for others. For some HSPs the world can just feel too loud, too bright and just too much sometimes. And it's not uncommon for us to feel out of place or misunderstood. We often feel different. But here's the thing I've learned over time, this sensitivity holds incredible power, a depth of feeling the intensity of our empathy, and our sharp awareness that comes with being highly sensitive are not just qualities to be managed, their strengths to be utilized and celebrated. So, if you've ever felt burdened by your sensitivity, we're about to explore how this very trait might be a profound source of power in your life. I used to be ashamed of my sensitivity, but now I know my sensitivity is my superpower. Here's some of the steps I took to figure out how to make my sensitivity my superpower.
Laura Meyer 03:30
Step one awareness around being a highly sensitive personality type or an HSP. I remember the first time I heard the word HSP, I went down a rabbit hole of research and book reading. It was like a light bulb went off in my head and suddenly, everything seemed to make sense in my life. As I researched and I learned I started to release any shame around being sensitive. What I realized is that the world needs empathy, compassion and depth that highly sensitive people bring to the table. Our rich internal lives, our thoughtfulness, it is not a burden, but it's a gift. It's a gift that allows us to process information more intensely and more deeply. It also helps us to understand others their problems and their challenges more completely. As I learned about the strength of being an HSP, I started to recognize that my sensitivity is not a flaw. It's a gift. The nervous system of an HSP is uniquely wired to experience the world in a way that many other people just don't. And this sometimes can feel pretty overwhelming. However, it also equips us to bring a much-needed perspective to every situation. So, learning about your sensitivity and understanding how it works is vital. It's about recognizing which environments, situations and stimuli align with your sensitive nature and recognizing which ones don't this self-awareness allows us to navigate our lives and businesses with ease. It also gives us more confidence to believe in those aspects of ourselves that are truly powerful in our society. We're often conditioned to believe that being powerful is about showing up as Bold, outspoken and impulsive, but throughout history sensitive personalities have played critical roles particularly in leadership. Think of advisors like Merlin and the King Arthur legends Merlin was a classic figure he balanced the Kings impulsiveness with wisdom, foresight and insight. The truth is Merlin was the secret to King Arthur success. Highly Sensitive persons or HSPs have a wide range of education experiences. We are curious, intelligent and very growth oriented. This diversity makes our council invaluable and leadership roles organizations might lean towards impulsive decisions without HSPs around the world needs sensitive individuals to show up as our authentic selves who we are unapologetically. So lean into your sensitive superpower even if you secretly wish it was something like from the Incredible.
Laura Meyer 05:50
Step two is to leverage your sensitivity as a highly sensitive person, or HSP. I've personally discovered the immense value of using my sensitivity as a superpower. This has been especially true in my consulting work, I get compensated well to go deep into challenging problems, many of which were left unsolved before I got involved. Prior to being a consultant, I followed the track of traditional entrepreneurship and built big businesses with large teams. This is a path that most HSPs don't thrive in. I found that to be the case with me, the work exhausted me. And even though I enjoyed the external validation that came with it, I secretly also hated it, I would self-sabotage and I struggled with depression. And after winding down and selling off the companies I started, I realized that building a business that was best suited for warriors was not what was best for me as HSPs we have this ability to solve problems due to the depth of our processing. But we also need space in our schedules to make that happens when we give ourselves permission to follow the type of path we're best suited for, we bring an intuitive approach that's hard to replicate. This makes us particularly effective in roles that require thoughtful consideration. We also have a keen understanding of complex problems and dynamic. However, it's also really important to recognize that even familiar or moderate stimulation can be hard for an HSP we might think we're doing really well with the day to day demands of our work and life. And suddenly, we're exhausted. And this fatigue is a sign that while we may have been managing things well, on a conscious level, our sensitivity has been absorbing everybody else's energy without any room for our own.
Laura Meyer 07:28
This is particularly true for those of us who are parents because we're also absorbing the energy of our kids and our families all the time. So even a regular day at work can leave an HSP needing quiet time and time for processing. And it's really important to plan for this downtime to recharge and rejuvenate. It's not about avoiding challenges or stimulations. Instead, it's about understanding and respecting your limit and growing the right kind of company for you or choosing the right career path for you one that gives you an opportunity to shine. As HSPs, our sensitivity is not just a personal trait. It's a lens in which we experience and impact the world and when used correctly, it can lead to profound insights, creative solutions, and deeply fulfilling work.
Laura Meyer 08:14
Step three is to embrace your inner sensitive ambitiousness. This third step in transforming our sensitivity into a superpower really involves embracing our inner sensitivity at work. For many of us who are highly sensitive, we're also quite ambitious. And this can create an inner conflict that sometimes feels like your brain and you are in a massive drag out argument. The challenge is that highly sensitive persons or purse HSPs find chaotic work environments and overly stressful career paths very taxing to the nervous system. But being highly ambitious and intelligent often requires us to be able to work in these types of situations. So what should we do when choosing careers or business types HSPs need environments that allow them to flourish. In the past, I've pursued businesses or been part of coaching programs that are really designed for the path of a warrior and in these situations, it became nearly impossible for me to leverage my zone of genius and our zone of genius is that rich in our world where HSPs shine. Over time, what I came to realize is that I didn't need to sacrifice my ambition for my well- being I could actually have both as long as I chose a career path without constant overscheduling or high intensity environments. There's a couple of different ways to do this sensitivity is valuable in creating content writing, consulting and synthesizing information, our ability to see the deeper layers of situations to feel the undercurrents and to understand the unspoken nuances gives us an edge in these creative and analytical career paths. And there are many ways to grow a low stress multimillion dollar business that honors our highly sensitive nature.
Laura Meyer 09:52
This is something that I wish I had known and understood years ago when we choose a business that gives us room to think and create and solve problems in a way that aligns with our sensitive nature we have a huge advantage and entrepreneurship and the right business model our unique gifts of sensitivity can be incredibly powerful a superpower if you will. Finding the right business model is what Joseph Campbell meant when he encouraged his students to follow your bliss. It involves finding and following what are truly aligns with our sensitive nature. This isn't always about pursuing the easy or fun path. Instead, it means following what feels deeply aligned and true to our unique style and strength as HSPs it's also crucial to avoid what I like to call the shiny outcome syndrome.
Laura Meyer 10:38
You might be excited or tempted to follow a path that seems promising but ends up being hard, taxing and all consuming. On this path. You've likely have the gifts and intellect to succeed but the journey there is filled with misery you will be required to sacrifice your well-being to make your business
successful. I've personally experienced this firsthand. I've chased business outcomes I found it enticing only to find myself answering to big teams and being involved in endless meetings. This not only exhausted me, but it took me away from my true gifting. As I've matured as an entrepreneur, I've reduced my commitment to those types of businesses. My business today is freedom based with a minimal team just one employee currently an ample time for spaciousness. This allows me to pursue entrepreneurship in a way that's more elegant and aligned with my HSP traits. Not to mention, it's actually much more profitable than the other businesses I've been involved in HSPs are naturally gifted writers, historians, philosophers, artists, researchers, advisors, creatives, therapists, and teachers and what we bring to any of these roles is a deep capacity to consider all the possible effects on an idea our sensitivity allows us to see the complexities and situations whereas others, they might just completely overlook the things that are obvious to us.
Laura Meyer 11:53
As for we as HSPs bring tremendous value as highly sensitive individuals highly recommend choosing a career path and entrepreneurial path and choosing work models that highlight your strengths without feeling like you're compromising on your goal. This is very much an ad with conversation rather than I can only have massive financial success or a small company, we live in an incredible digital world where we can have both the key to understanding our roles as ambitious, sensitive personalities is understanding the value that we bring not just in what we do, but in how we do it, which is with sensitivity. I want to leave you with a final thought your sensitivity is not just a part of you, it is a superpower. I want to encourage you to embrace and love this aspect of yourself fully in a world that often values toughness and Girl boss style ambition. Your sensitivity serves as a place of depth and understanding and empathy. It's a rare and beautiful gift that allows you to see the world in a way where others might not. It lets you feel more deeply and connect in a more genuine way to learning to leverage your sensitivity in the right way can transform both your personal life and your business. I know it has mind. It leads to deeper relationships, more meaningful work and a greater sense of fulfillment, but we bring to the table as HSPs is invaluable in any role. Whether you're a leader or a creator, or a consultant or an advisor as you move forward. Remember to honor your sensitivity to nurture it and use it as the incredible strength that it is know that in being sensitive, you have the power to create to inspire and make a real difference in this world. Your sensitivity is your superpower and it's time to let it shine. Thanks so much for joining me today in this exploration of how sensitivity can be a powerful superpower in our lives and work.
Laura Meyer 13:41
Thanks so much for joining me today. Whether you're building your dream business seeking personal transformation, or striving for a more balanced life, you are in the right place. If you loved the audio version of this, I think you'll really enjoy seeing my YouTube channel so make sure to check out the show notes and see the corresponding video as well. I really appreciate you being here with me today and I'll see you next time on the abundant life podcast.
Welcome to The Joybrand Podcast! Join host Laura Meyer, a 20+ year veteran entrepreneur and marketing expert, as she explores how to navigate the challenges of being an entrepreneur, develop a winning mindset, and maintain wellness in our hectic lives. Whether you're a budding entrepreneur, a seasoned business owner, or someone seeking a richer, more balanced life, The Joybrand Podcast offers insights and inspiration to fuel your journey.