Cultivating Sensitivity Will Improve Your Life

Here’s to the sensitive ones. The emotional ones. The ones who are ‘making a big deal’.

Traditionally, our strength is correlated with our ability to juggle, persevere, and handle the game of life with a smile pasted on our faces.

Strong is defined as: able to withstand great pressure.

So, we learn to take on as many challenges as our strength allows us to — stuffing our emotions inside and maintaining composure. We learn to mask the weight of our pressures behind Keep Calm and Carry On paraphernalia like badges of honor.

We do this because we’re conditioned to believe this is the epitome of what strong, successful people do. What it means is that we’ve gotten good at bypassing our true feelings to fit an outdated standard in a cookie-cutter reality. This stoic, forced type of strength is what leads us to the brink of burnout. It’s what causes us to behave like passengers in our own lives, trudging on with our daily duties without question.

I know this because I’ve tried to fit this standard for most of my life. It’s exhausting, and I’m fucking over it. The truth is, I’m sensitive AF. If I had a dime for every time someone told me I was being too sensitive or emotional… I wouldn’t be rich, but I could without a doubt fill an above average-sized piggy bank.

I used to think of my sensitivity as a curse. A scarlet letter splaying out my vulnerabilities to others, making them think I was weak. I didn’t understand why I feel so damn much all of the time and wished I could turn down the dial on my overactive emotions barometer.

Recently, I’ve embraced my sensitivity as one of my greatest gifts. I’ve realized that in the most difficult times in my life, my true inner strength has been drawn from my sensitivity rather than brainpower or gusto. My sensitivity is what allows me to feel present, to connect with others, and to live a life I crave — full of experience and depth.

Sensitivity is synonymous with consciousness. To be conscious is to be awake. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather live my life awake than as the emblem of a strong, able-bodied drone.

Every one of us is sensitive. Some of our sensitivity levels are more dormant than others’. However, just as we are all able-bodied enough to take on great pressures, we all have sensitivity within us to unlock great levels of potential.

You’ll understand yourself better than ever before…

…and not just in the literal “I get sick when I eat dairy” sense.

The type of self-understanding that comes with a refined sensitivity muscle is derived from self-love. It’s the realization of your boundaries, preferences, hopes, and aspirations. It’s what pulls you out of your deepest, darkest moments and what allows you to embody the most joyful occasions life has to offer.

The only way to understand yourself is to take a deep internal dive, and that requires a degree of sensitivity. By traditional strength standards, this deep dive may be considered frivolous. But in truth, the payoffs of a developing a relationship with your inner self are immeasurably more substantial than simply pushing your true feelings aside.

You’ll understand others better than ever before…

…improving the well-being of yourself and those around you.

Sensitive people are in touch with their emotions, and therefore highly receptive and observant. Sensitivity will help you become aware of others’ behaviors, facial expressions, and varying tones of voice. You’ll pick up on nuances and overarching characteristics that allow you to truly see, hear, and appreciate people.

This deeper understanding allows you to form meaningful connections. Whether you’re with family members, friends, lovers, or strangers — you’ll notice that when you approach interactions with a level of sensitivity, others open up to you quickly and naturally. From the workplace to your home life, a deeper understanding of others will lead to more effortless communication, enjoyable interactions, and overall stronger bonds.

You’ll learn to process your emotions…

…and have a greater capacity to experience life’s pleasures.

It’s true, being sensitive entails a lot of feeling. Sensitive people are known to have their turbulent and moody moments — or days. That’s what happens when you process intense levels of emotion through your physical body. We’re all doing it, but sensitive people are just more aware of the process in its entirety.

Most people don’t let themselves truly experience and process their emotions. They numb with their favorite vice, pretend it doesn’t matter, and focus on other things. When you’ve cultivated sensitivity, you learn that experiencing your pain allows you to release it, creating space for you to fully enjoy the good stuff.

By the good stuff, I mean the full spectrum of joyful emotions and moments. Savoring every bite of a delicious meal. Sitting by a fireplace with a warm cup of tea in your hand. Walking barefoot in the grass or on the beach. Cuddling your pet on a Sunday morning. Happiness, excitement, passion, satisfaction, pleasure, joy, appreciation — you name it, you’ll feel it in blissful totality.

You’ll become braver…

…and closer to living the life you want to live.

The sensitivity it takes to sit and face your innermost thoughts, feelings, and nudges takes tenacity and courage. Sometimes our thoughts, feelings, and nudges are dark, painful, and reveal truths we haven’t been wanting to face. Sometimes our sensitivity is what leads us to take leaps of faith we otherwise would have never admitted we were dying to take.

Sensitivity essentially means you’re perceptive enough to move with the ebbs and flows of life. It’s the commitment to stepping out of your comfort zone when you hear the call. It’s the will to be vulnerable and brave — to leave the relationship that’s no longer working, to start the business, to write the book, to conquer your fear of flying, and to say what you want to say.

Sensitivity is not for the faint of heart. It can’t be masked behind the fleeting strength of brain or brawn. The cultivation of sensitivity is an ongoing effort, but with time, it’ll yield the skills you need to live a supercharged life.