You notice absolutely everything. The odd smell, the way the sunlight hits the water, the emotions of the person you’re with, and a million other thoughts vie for your attention. You’re a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP), and you are absolutely amazing.
You might not feel that way. If you’re one of the 15 – 20% of the population to experience this kind of awareness, you’ve probably been called a few names. The world can be harsh with people who seem ‘oversensitive’ and react accordingly. You might have been told to ‘toughen up’ or ‘not let things get to you.’ Chances are, your intuition has even been called into question, with no one understanding how you see all the connections so quickly.
What the world doesn’t realize is the Highly Sensitive Person actually is the one with the edge. Noticing the details, being in tune with what’s going on, and even having a deeper understanding of emotions and how things fit together, all make for the perfect person to succeed where others fail. Read on to find out just how the Highly Sensitive Person has the advantage. In fact, some might even call these traits your superpowers.
What the world doesn’t realize is the Highly Sensitive Person actually is the one with the edge. Click To Tweet
Your Sensitive Superpowers
You Understand the Emotions of Others
Someone who can seemingly sense how others are feeling is seen to have the edge in every walk of life. These are the people who make for excellent counselors or social workers because they have so much compassion. Coupled with action, someone with this kind of empathy makes for a social justice warrior or even the best kind of politician. Empathy means you’re that awesome friend who knows just how to comfort someone when they’re feeling down or cheer them on when they’re flagging. This also makes you more considerate of others, a trait that makes people want to work with you or spend time in your company.
You’re a Great Listener
Empathy is what helps you to open up to others, and more importantly, to be open to them. Highly Sensitive People understand what’s it like to feel like no one is listening to them because they listen to the pain of others and feel it deeply when it’s expressed to them. That’s why you listen and listen so well. People love this about you and know just who to go to when they need a sympathetic ear.
You Take Time to Think
Highly Sensitive People have a lot of information to process, all the time. This gives them a lot to consider when they’re making decisions. This can lead to some frustration on the part of those who work with the HSP, as they generally aren’t quite as fast as others might be when it comes to deciding a new direction or strategy. On the other hand, your HSP will have considered all the angles, so you know when they do give their opinion, it’s well worth the wait.
You Know Who to Trust…and Who NOT to
All that information collected by a Highly Sensitive Person is always put to good use. It’s the HSP who notices when something is ‘off’ about someone, far quicker than anyone else would figure out the same thing (if ever). This is because the HSP is tuned into the fine details of the world around them. All those ‘tells’ that give away a liar, for example, might as well be advertised on a billboard when an HSP is around. More often than not, though, the HSP doesn’t always consciously know why they do or don’t trust someone. They process so much information! This usually comes out more like intuition. If this sounds familiar, you might want to spend more time listening to your gut. If you don’t feel good about a person or situation, pay attention. More often than not, you’re going to be right.
You Get Things Done
When you’re a Highly Sensitive Person, you’re more likely to have figured out one of the secrets of the universe: multi-tasking doesn’t work. The HSP knows just how much they can get done when they concentrate, and so they tend to do it well. Single-tasking is their strength. If this is you, you already know just how amazing you are when it comes to getting things done and are frequently surprised how everyone else seems to struggle with this so much.
You Know What’s Going On
Do you really need someone to explain what someone said just now? Probably not. The Highly Sensitive Person uses their eye for detail, and couples it with their listening skills to put together the finer nuances of conversation better than anyone else. You probably understand the subtext better than anyone else and are frequently the one called upon to explain to your friends what that guy meant when he said your friend was ‘interesting.’
You’re More Open-minded
The Highly Sensitive Person is so good at seeing where others are coming from, and they have a tendency to refrain from making judgments until they’ve had a chance to hear things from the other person’s point of view. This means you’re willing to give another viewpoint a shot and even willing to have your mind changed if the other person has the facts to support what they’re saying. This makes you more open-minded, a definite superpower in this day and age.
You’re Really Creative
Being able to think outside the box is one of the true benefits of being a Highly Sensitive Person. The HSP is used to noticing details and facts and has a great facility for putting things together, usually in ways the rest of the world wouldn’t think to. Also, the connection to emotions and the desire to express them tends to draw the HSP into highly creative career choices. As an HSP, your creativity is probably constantly being put to the test. You can’t help but think about things in new ways. When encouraged, you’ll come up with all kinds of ideas, and have the ability to be a great problem-solver.
You Bounce Back Quickly
There’s a lot to be said for being resilient. The Highly Sensitive Person is used to overcoming stuff. With so many stimuli, they’re frequently overwhelmed. At the same time, just in order to live halfway normally, they have to learn how to cope when overwhelmed and get past the discomfort. This means if you’re an HSP you face new challenges better than those around you and are back on your feet again quicker when knocked down by a challenge.
You Hang in There
Once you’ve bounced back, the Highly Sensitive You is more likely to try again. What makes the HSP so stubborn about continuing where others would quit? Simply put, they know how to keep their eyes on the prize. All that thinking means they’ve already considered why the end goal is beneficial and what it’s going to take to get there. With this kind of clarity, it’s no wonder you’re so great at keeping going, even when the going gets tough.
You’re Good at Being Alone
While this doesn’t seem like a superpower at first glance, it is. Alone time is where the Highly Sensitive Person recharges, so they’re going to seek it out naturally. But this is also great for you when you’re an HSP because it means you also don’t need to be entertained. You know the value of quiet, meaning you’re not cluttering up your life with people who are only so much noise or distractions that only cost you time and money you can’t afford to spend.
You Are the Calm
Where do people go when they need refuge from the chaos of the world? They seek out the Highly Sensitive Person, who is the expert at creating a peaceful oasis. Why? If you’re an HSP, you already know – it’s because you hate the wild emotions of conflict and with your empathetic nature, will work hard to soothe the drama and restore peace.
You’re Good at Taking Care of You
All that listening to what goes on around them makes Highly Sensitive People very good at knowing how to best take care of themselves. They’re more apt to notice when they need a break, or even just how good it feels to work out. If you’re HSP, then you’re in the position to be the master of your health, making you a hero to yourself.
You Notice EVERYTHING
Perception becomes a superpower when all those details you’ve constantly noticed can be put together into solutions. This makes the HSP incredibly valuable in the workplace or even socially. More than that, you are more apt to gain true enjoyment from things like art and music, as you’re going to discover the nuanced detail everyone else missed. All this combines to make your life incredibly rich and fulfilling.
You Know How to Live…and Love…Well
The Highly Sensitive Person experiences everything so completely. You experience every range of emotion so deeply it becomes part of every experience. So while a regular person might have a good time hiking in nature, your experience is going to be richer, with vivid memories of every detail from sights and sounds, to the way the pine trees smelled, and how the water in the stream felt when you stopped to go wading. What’s more, you share these experiences just as fully, meaning when you hit on something particularly strong like love, you reflect that love so fully and completely, the relationships of others seem paltry by comparison.
Conclusion
The Highly Sensitive Person experiences so much more than everyone else in life, and while this sometimes can become overwhelming, more often than not, it leads to a fuller, more exciting life. This ability to experience things so deeply is, in fact, your greatest superpower. So, if you’re Highly Sensitive, rejoice! Sure, things are more challenging sometimes, but the benefits are so worth it!