Being a sensitive person can often feel overwhelming, especially in today’s fast-paced, hyper-connected world. And these challenges are frequently compounded by the many misconceptions that people have about sensitivity as a trait. As a sensitive person himself, our guest today, Andre Sólo, is deeply familiar with these challenges and has spent the better part of his career dedicated to shedding light on what it truly means to be a highly sensitive person (HSP) and what we all need to understand better about sensitivity.
Through his work and new book, Andre is making profound contributions to those of us who identify as sensitive (even if we don’t know it yet). He is the co-founder of the website, Highly Sensitive Refuge, the world’s largest online community for sensitive people, and recently co-authored the extremely helpful book The Hidden Power of the Highly Sensitive Person in a Loud, Fast, Too-Much World. Andre is also a researcher and speaker and serves as Chief Make-It-Happen Officer of Introvert, Dear, a supportive community and resource for introverted and sensitive individuals alike.
Tuning in today, you’ll learn all about what it means to be a sensitive individual, including why HSPs tend to be creative, empathetic, and highly conscientious, and why it’s so easy for them to become overstimulated. Andre goes on to unpack some of the problematic messaging that society regularly gives to sensitive boys and girls, and how this can result in people suppressing and hiding their sensitivity, rather than embracing it as one of their greatest strengths. Our conversation also explores how sensitive children are impacted by their upbringing and environment, and why the best thing you can do as the parent of a sensitive child is to accept and encourage them just as they are.
Today’s episode is filled with fascinating insights into what it means to move through the world as a sensitive person and provides a helpful guide for what we can do to better understand and support sensitive individuals, allowing them to embrace and leverage their unique superpowers. As a highly sensitive person myself, I’m grateful to Andre for his groundbreaking work in this field.
To learn more about this deeply human trait, and how it can shape a person’s entire identity, be sure to tune in for our conversation with Andre Sólo!
Key Highlights From This Episode:
- Understanding the traits of a highly sensitive person (HSP), and the misconceptions that many people have about sensitive people. [02:45]
- What neuroscience teaches us about how sensitive people take in information in a much deeper way. [04:36]
- The correlations between being introverted and highly sensitive, the difference between these two traits, and what each of them measures. [08:54]
- Why being sensitive can help you be an excellent leader. [11:11]
- Some of the drawbacks of being a sensitive person, why sensitive people often experience strong emotions, and how they can further increase their emotional intelligence. [14:23]
- The three distinct ways that sensitivity can come across in individuals. [17:54]
- Learn about the ‘boost’ effect in sensitive people, why sensitive people are more affected by their environment, and how they can benefit from therapy, meditation and spiritual practices. [21:58]
- The stigma and discrimination that many sensitive people experience, the messaging that girls and boys receive about their sensitive traits, and how to parent a sensitive child. [28:20]
- Helpful tips on how to communicate with teachers about your sensitive child. [34:01]
- The revelatory distinction between empathy and compassion, the concept of emotional contagion, and how sensitive people often absorb the emotions of other people. [39:27]
For More Information:
The Hidden Power of the Highly Sensitive Person in a Loud, Fast, Too-Much World
Ready to Take Your Professional Life and Leadership to the Next Level? Become The Most Powerful You!
In reading a great deal about leadership today, and interviewing top leadership experts, I’m recognizing a disappointing trend – that the general concept and understanding of leadership has become so vague and watered down that most of it isn’t helpful at all, and it’s not suited to a majority of women who want to lead differently.
The Most Powerful You training goes deeper. It helps you recognize and understand more about yourself as a person and the leader you want to be, then take empowering, transformative actions to operate in your role in a way that takes your leadership and your career higher, making the impact you dream to. If you truly want to help your team, staff, and organization become “The Most Powerful We,” this is the right training for you.
Take this course individually or bring it to your workforce and teams today!
Click below for more information on:
8-week Most Powerful You course for women
Video training program for organizations, DEI&B programs and leadership development training
———————-
Calling all coaches!
Do you run a coaching business that focuses on supporting women? If so, I’ve got some news.
Right now, we’ve opened the enrollment window of my coach training program called The Amazing Career Coach Certification, which is a 17-week, hands-on training program that certifies female coaches in my proprietary 16-step career growth model, which is perfect for coaches who want a deeper dive into powerful, proven coaching frameworks, concepts, and skills that will help you become far more effective in working with women.
And through the program, you’ll get access to a powerful Small Business Acceleration program called The Rapid Growth Academy, delivered by my friend and colleague, award-winning business growth expert Matthew Pollard.
Through Matthew’s program, you’ll be taught essential business and sales growth info that will help you grow your business success in the quickest way possible.
In my view, there’s nothing on the market like for coaches because it targets the two critical aspects of success: how you support your clients to thrive, and just as importantly, how to grow your own business to the next level.
For more information, visit certification.amazingcareerproject.com and check out the details
———————
Order Kathy’s book The Most Powerful You today!
In Australia and New Zealand, click here to order, elsewhere outside North America, click here, and in the UK, click here.
If you enjoy the book, we’d so appreciate your giving the book a positive rating and review on Amazon! And check out Kathy’s digital companion course The Most Powerful You, to help you close the 7 most damaging power gaps in the most effective way possible.
Kathy’s Power Gaps Survey, Support To Build Your LinkedIn Profile To Great Success & Other Free Resources
Kathy’s TEDx Talk, Time To Brave Up & Free Career Path Self-Assessment
Kathy’s Amazing Career Project video training course & 6 Dominant Action Styles Quiz
———————
Sponsor Highlight
I’m thrilled that both Audible.com and Amazon Music are sponsors of Finding Brave! Take advantage of their great special offers and free trials today!
Quotes:
“Sensitive people are actually wired at a brain level to process all information more deeply. And that allows us to notice things that others miss, and to make connections and find new ideas that others might not make.” — @justandresolo [0:03:28]
“We’ve spoken to highly sensitive service members who credited their sensitivity as being one of their most important traits as a military service member. So it’s a very kind of flexible and valuable trait.” — @justandresolo [0:06:58]
“Sensitivity comes with many strengths, both physical and emotional, and in terms of creativity and intelligence. At the same time, your brain is putting all this extra work in. So there’s a cost to those gifts. And that cost is overstimulation.” — @justandresolo [0:07:22]
“Just as highly sensitive people get more out of therapy, I think they probably also get more out of spiritual practice. And I can say for myself, personally, that meditating is life-changing and transformative.” — @justandresolo [0:26:46]
“If you have a sensitive child, the biggest thing you can do is to accept and encourage them.” — @justandresolo [0:34:12]
“If you’re picking up the stress, the sadness, the anger, of all the people around you, especially if you’re feeling it very vividly yourself, that is exhausting, uncomfortable, distracting. And it sometimes feels impossible to turn off.” — @justandresolo [0:42:47]
Watch our Finding Brave episodes on YouTube!
Don’t forget – you can experience each Finding Brave episode in both audio and video formats! Check out new and recent episodes on my YouTube channel at YouTube.com/kathycaprino. And please leave us a comment and a thumbs up if you like the show!
0 Comments