Why I Wouldn’t Trade My Sensitivity for the World 

ByShannon Arnold Maynard
A sensitive person

I’ve been on a quest to feel known and understood for as long as I can remember, because I’ve always felt different.

I feel things deeply. I’m in my head, lost in my thoughts, more often than not. When I’m in a group setting, I’m completely engaged but prefer to listen and observe. It’s amazing how much nonverbal information people are constantly revealing if you’re paying attention.

And I get overwhelmed easily. By too much newness, too many people, beauty, sadness, or injustice. Especially injustice.

Why It’s Hard Being ‘the Sensitive One’

When I was in fourth grade, I learned that I’m an introvert in an extrovert’s world. And two years ago, I discovered that I’m a part of 20 percent of the population who are highly sensitive.

So it turns out that I don’t just feel different. I am different.

This has led me to extensively research my wiring, and to be completely honest, that has held its share of discouraging moments. I’ve had it confirmed over and over again that introverts and highly sensitive people (HSPs) tend to feel profoundly misunderstood. Profoundly!

While this is validating and makes me feel less alone, it doesn’t change anything. At times, it makes me feel like I may as well abandon my pursuit of being fully known… and accept that I’ll only experience the deep connections I crave when I find fellow HSPs.

But there’s another way to look at it.

Every Person Has a Purpose

I believe that we’re all perfectly and intentionally wired for a purpose. The world needs the beautiful blend of personalities and preferences that make us all unique and creates the dissonance that challenges each one of us daily, allowing us to grow.

I believe we’re all specifically wired for the people in our lives right now, and they have as much to teach us as we do to teach them.

Of course, that means we’re all different. And when it comes to subtle personality traits like how we perceive the world, how we think and process, our sensitivities and insensitivities, or our ability to empathize and experience emotions — those are subtleties we don’t often acknowledge about one another. And many people don’t take the time to understand them, because they’re too busy overvaluing their own experiences and perception.

As soon as we recognize that we’re all looking through a distinctly different lens that shapes the way we see the world — and each other — everything changes. This carves out space for each one of us to fulfill the purpose we were created for.

Because if my lens is different than your lens, we’re both going to bring different perspectives to the table. And that difference is invaluable because it can expand our worldview, helping us see something we otherwise wouldn’t have.

More often than we may realize, this is how we learn exactly what that situation was meant to teach us.

Being Wired Differently Is a Gift

Being wired to feel deeply is one of the greatest gifts I have to give to the world. And I know that it’s an integral part of my purpose. But it’s hard for me to always see it this way because it’s also one of the most challenging parts of my personality.

When I’m with others, I feel every intense emotion they’re feeling, and I’m constantly sorting through my emotions to determine what’s actually mine and what isn’t.

There are so many TV shows and movies I can’t watch because of the violence that rocks me to my core and haunts me at night, because it felt like it happened to me. I’m even affected by the previews for those shows, always showing the most violent and sensationalized moments to draw in the viewers that are bored by anything less.

But this trait is also the source of my empathy, my compassion, and my ability to help others heal.

I Would Never Trade My Sensitivity

I’ve spent so much of my life wishing I was “normal.” Wishing I could handle what “everyone else” seems to be able to handle, watch what “everyone else” is watching and then talking about in casual conversation.

But that would mean trading my ability to empathize with any situation, regardless of whether I’ve gone through anything even remotely similar, and understand how the other person is feeling at the deepest level.

I would have to surrender my compassion for those who are hurting, and my ability to know when something is wrong without being told.

I wouldn’t pick up on the things that no one else notices, or have the ability to sit with someone else inside their pain.

If HSPs were tougher and more “normal,” the world would lose what it so desperately needs: highly intuitive, complex, empathic individuals who care deeply and feel even more deeply.

It’s not easy for us, and it never will be, but we have the opportunity to impact everyone who crosses our path with our unique gifts. I wouldn’t trade my high sensitivity for the world.

A version of this article originally appeared on the website Introvert, Dear.

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I’m a Certified Professional Coach, Energy Leadership Index Master Practitioner, introvert, INFJ, and HSP. I help introverted leaders build quiet confidence, break through what’s holding them back, and create a career they love.

I believe that we’re all perfectly and intentionally wired for a purpose, and I’ve experienced first-hand that recognizing, understanding, and owning your unique value as an introvert is the true path to your professional and personal success.

I’ve created highly effective, proven processes to help my clients set values-based goals, become more confident at work, and change their inner critic’s message.

The Energy Leadership Assessment provides the foundation for the work that I do. This is a powerful tool that can help you reduce stress, choose how you show up in every situation, and become a more effective leader.
I’m Canadian, lived in Los Angeles for 14 years, and moved to Georgia with my husband and two cats last November.

You can learn more about my work here.