Your sensitivity is a super power

Hello Beautiful,

If I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard I was “too sensitive,” I’d probably have an additional $20,000 plus in savings. Okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration, but I’d have a lot.

Often, sensitivity is seen as weakness in our culture. We’re taught that it’s better to push our feelings down and barrel through, and that it’s weak to express emotion. That we need to “keep our eye on the prize”. 

What if this wasn’t true?  What if our measure of what’s valuable, successful, and “good enough” wasn’t stuck inside such a narrow expression? What if we started seeing inherent value not only in what we do, earn and produce, but rather, in who we are, what we feel, and how we express?

Don’t get me wrong. I felt super “strong” when I did a triathlon at age 26, and boy did I push some feelings down to get through that! I’m just saying that culturally we place a lot of emphasis on a very narrowed idea of being “strong,” and in reality, some of my most strength-filled moments have been when I was actually giving space to the immensity of my feelings. I’ve found incredible value in going right into an emotion that was surfacing and, instead of shutting it down, just being with it. Expressing whatever needed to be expressed.

I feel we need to reconnect to our emotional intelligence. To stop seeing it as something wrong with us. To learn how to meet ourselves in the most vulnerable of moments. To see our sensitivity as strength.

Why? So we don’t run the risk of hurting ourselves by suppressing what needs to be felt. So that we can lessen the effects of all the disconnect…the anxiety and depression that comes with treating ourselves as less than human. So that we raise children who know they matter way beyond what they earn or what they do; that their feelings matter just as much as their accolades; that they’ll be accepted for all of who they are; and that it’s okay to prioritize creating a world steeped in more love, compassion and care.

So my invitation to you this week is to get curious: where are you cutting yourself off from your sensitivity? Where are you feeling like you just have to push through and be “stronger”? What are the effects of that in your life and on your overall health and well-being?

What might be possible for you if you began to reclaim the sensitivity of your soul? The sacredness of your full expression? Notice inside your body what you sense would open up for you and expand into that space. And let me know what you discover!

with love,

P.s. If this article is really resonating for you, I invite you to check out my upcoming The Expressed Woman, mini-retreat, live here in Santa Barbara on June 8th. In this day we’ll more deeply explore how your full expression thrives when you open up to your emotional intelligence and see the value of your sensitivity.  You’ll discover new practices to support you in integrating this listening into your daily life, so you feel fully expressed and free to just be you. Check out more details here and to reserve your spot here (there’s still a special pricing of $47 until June 2nd, which is a $50 savings): http://melanieelkin.com/expressed-woman-2019/

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