What are the secret superpowers of highly sensitive people? (+7 Tips for HSPs)
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The Optimistminds editorial team is made up of psychologists, psychiatrists and mental health professionals. Each article is written by a team member with exposure to and experience in the subject matter. The article then gets reviewed by a more senior editorial member. This is someone with extensive knowledge of the…
This info-rich article will be discussing what the secret superpowers of highly sensitive people are. In addition to this, we will also be checking out different effective ways through which you can put your sensitivity to the best of use.
What are the secret superpowers of highly sensitive people?
The secret superpowers of highly sensitive people are high levels of empathy, helping attitudes, great communication skills, intuition and leadership. These secret superpowers have been explained in detail below.
High levels of empathy
The best secret superpower of highly sensitive people is that they have very high levels of empathy. Empathy is different from sympathy and this means that the person is able to put themselves into the shoes of someone else and think from their perspective.
Empathy is often not held as high as other qualities like intelligence and leadership, but is actually the most important quality a person can have. Highly sensitive people thus are blessed with great emotional intelligence.
Intuitive minds
Apart from being great listeners, highly sensitive people are also very intuitive to the needs of others. This intuition or ‘gut-feeling’ is pretty rare and is definitely a super-power. In many instances, this intuition can turn out to be life-saving as well.
Leadership skills
Highly sensitive people make amazing leaders. This is not because they are aggressive pushers, but they clearly understand what everyone in the team needs and wants. This is the reason they tend to become very popular in a group.
Apart from these, highly sensitive people also have the following other superpowers that most don’t know about.
Helping attitudes
Highly sensitive people are the first to run towards a person if they are calling out for help. This quality makes them well-loved and adored by those around them. Highly sensitive people are definitely a friend in need.
Great communication skills
They are also equipped with great communication skills which make them an integral part of any working group. Apart from being able to communicate their thoughts in a well-put manner, they are also able to actively listen to what the other person is saying.
Active listening is different from passive listening. Active listening means that the person who is speaking genuinely feels that their message is being received well and will be used for the right purpose.
Open-minded to new thoughts and ideas
If a new thought or idea is put out by someone, a highly sensitive person will be the first to hop on board. This is even though they might not be ready to completely accept the idea. This characteristic of HSPs can be attributed to their high levels of empathy.
Creativity and imagination
Another interesting secret superpower that highly sensitive people have is great creativity and imagination. They are able to whip up brand new ideas in a short span of time which can culminate into fully useful end products.
Ability to turn acquaintances into family
Highly sensitive people also have an incredible ability to turn acquaintances into friends and family. By genuinely showing an interest in what people have to say and caring for them at their times of need, highly sensitive people can easily create their own family wherever they are.
Positivity and adaptability
Movies may portray highly sensitive people as weepy and emotional all the time. But this is not always true. Highly sensitive people tend to bring positivity into every room they go to since they know what to say at what time.
They are also highly adaptable to any type of situation. This makes them strong workers in very difficult situations. By showing up with a positive attitude along with their emotional intelligence, HSPs are capable of handling anything with better ease.
Ability to look into the small details
What others may overlook in people and things, highly sensitive people are capable of noticing easily. Small details may indeed be small, but are important for solving problems, for bringing people together and for improving work processes.
High self-awareness levels
Highly sensitive people are not only super-aware of what feelings others are experiencing at the moment, but are also very self-aware. They are very well-knowing of when they are in the best of moods, and when they need space or when they need to let go of an issue.
This makes highly sensitive people very dependable and responsible characters which is the reason why smart managers prefer working with HSPs. The self-awareness also helps them regulate their emotions much better when compared to other people.
How to put your high-sensitivity to use?
If you are a highly sensitive person, you might have experienced other people putting your qualities down as a weakness. However, high-sensitivity is actually a strong quality in many ways. Some ways through which you can put your sensitivity to good use are:
- Prepare yourself beforehand. If you are a highly sensitive person, certain situations may not be easily accepted by you. For instance, attending a meeting where tensions are sure to run high can get you easily anxious.
If you are aware that you need to attend some event which is bound to give you anxiety, you can try preparing for it beforehand by using familiar coping strategies. Examples are visualization of the event, breathing techniques and guided meditation.
- You can try being more assertive in your communication. Highly sensitive people often lack the assertiveness to stand up for their own rights. However, assertiveness can make your experience better and also improve your standing in an organization.
- You can stand up for others. Not just standing up for yourself, but standing up for another person can also be fantastic if you are a highly sensitive person. This is important since you might notice things that others may have overlooked.
- Take on more group projects. If you have shied away from group projects until now because of your sensitivity, you should seriously reconsider this. Highly sensitive people can be the straw that stirs the drink when it comes to group projects.
- Understand your limits. Being a highly sensitive person is not easy and can often make you feel that you carry the entire weight of the world on your shoulders. While using your superpowers, you should also be aware of your limits and maintain these wisely.
If you don’t maintain your limits, other people may take advantage of your nature and this can in turn lead to you burning out. If you are finding it hard to understand your limits and the areas where you need help, you can try consulting a therapist.
- Make friends who think like you. You can also take the help of others who have the same thought process as you. If you are an introvert, you can even seek the help of online groups and forums.
- Keep learning about yourself. As a person, you keep evolving throughout your life. As a highly sensitive person, you need to keep learning about yourself and boosting your knowledge about your unique personality and your strengths.
This can be done through self-care routines, meditation, and spirituality and even by speaking with others. You can even try journaling as this can be a superb self-reflective activity which you can use in the long run.
Conclusion
This info-rich article has discussed what the secret superpowers of highly sensitive people are. In addition to this, we have also checked out different effective ways through which you can put your sensitivity to the best of use.
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