The Cost of Rejecting Your Sensitivity

I hear from many of you that you don’t want to “accept” being highly sensitive. It’s like if you give yourself permission to be who you really are, you’re giving in or even giving up somehow.

The problem with this is that when we disown parts of ourselves we’ve deemed unacceptable, we waste huge amounts of our precious life energy resisting or repressing them. Plus we usually end up making ourselves sick on some level — whether we’re soul sick or physically sick, trying to make ourselves be who we are not.

Why do we do this?

We repress, deny, and resist being highly sensitive because we’ve been programmed by our culture to believe that being highly sensitive is unacceptable. Particularly in American culture, the value is placed on being extroverted, logical, and unemotional. We’ve been told for years, “Oh, you’re just too sensitive.” And, “Stop being so emotional.” No wonder we fight it!

Here are some tips to help you get back on track:

1. Get a grip on your Inner Critic. So many sensitives have an internalized negative talk track that runs nonstop day and night.

Wrestle that Inner Critic into submission and put new, supportive self-talk habits in place by dismantling the common negative messages you’re telling yourself and replacing them with supportive thoughts (Want help with this? Mark your calendar for August 17th and 19th for my “Self-Acceptance and Inner Sanctuaries for Sensitive Souls” TeleSeminar series. Stay tuned for registration details).

Whenever you hear your Inner Critic pipe up, say, “Thanks for sharing, but I’m not interested,” and choose a new focus for your inner dialogue.

2. Value your reactions. Because we’ve internalized this idea that we’re not okay, sensitives tend to believe that our reactions are inappropriate or unacceptable. What if people don’t like your reaction because they don’t want to be called on their bad behavior? Gather information from your reactions rather than rejecting them, and make choices about what best supports you.

For example, if you’re feeling uncomfortable when someone asks you to pick them up from the airport, rather than ignoring it and saying yes, ask yourself, “What is this feeling telling me?” Give your response only once you have ALL the information.

3. Manage your fears, doubts, and worries. Create an “Inner Sanctuary” for yourself. Once you get your Inner Critic under control, you’ll also want to learn methods to soothe your fears, doubts, and worries so they aren’t running the show either. Remember, they are sourced from limiting beliefs designed to keep you fitting in and staying “safe,” but they aren’t serving your higher purpose, and they are NOT the wise voice of truth.

4. Focus on what is working. My coaching mentors always reminded me to focus on the 98% that IS working, not the tiny 2% that isn’t. Shift your focus to what IS flowing well for you, and enjoy it. Remember, what you focus on expands!

By Accepting Your High Sensitivity and Yourself For Who You REALLY Are, You Make Space for Your Beautiful Gifts to Show Up in the World

Rejecting your sensitivity costs you precious time and life energy that you could be investing in creating your dreams and doing what you were put here to do. It’s time to let go of trying to fit in and wasting energy on that negative spin cycle of limiting thinking. When you truly accept yourself as the highly sensitive being you are, you’ll be back in the Divine flow, and life will get so much easier.