Our Challenges Shape Our Purpose

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Current times are challenging. Several months into a pandemic with no known end in sight, dividing families, economic crisis, racial unrest, political divide, climate crisis, etc. Families are struggling. It's easy for fear to take over in all this uncertainty and when you combine the intensity of emotion we experience as HSPs it can be overwhelming.

It is through a challenge where we have our most significant growth and often find our purpose. Struggles and suffering lead us to personal growth. While this is a time of great challenge, it is also a time of pivoting and soul searching and internal growth work. We do not know when things will be better, and this is a marathon. As sensitive people, we must develop and use tools to help us cope through these challenges and grow through them. Imagine how hard Olympic athletes train to boost their performance. HSPs need to prepare for what we are going through and what we have ahead of us.

I love learning about how people got to where they are in their growth journeys. It’s a question I ask my guests on The HSP Podcast too. Most of the time, the most significant personal growth happens out of challenge and suffering. Many HSPs have found their purpose and calling out of their biggest struggles.

I was struggling with anxiety, depression, and felt out of control emotionally in my own story. I was SO SENSITIVE to everything, mind, and body that I often felt “too sensitive for this world.” It’s something I thought a lot about and wondered how I was going to do everything I wanted to do. I started learning about the brain and how we have brain differences as HSPs. I dove deeply into researching this trait and realized a lot that I could do to make things better. When I first learned that I could intentionally activate calming centers in the brain, this was one of my most life-changing discoveries! I loved learning techniques that taught me how to pause, reflect, and respond instead of reacting emotionally. I learned about self-compassion and how it’s a brain training skill, and it would transform my life. I started personally practicing techniques and started feeling better!

I had more energy, I didn’t feel so reactive, and I began to feel like I had tools in my pocket for managing my sensitive nervous system. It was amazing to feel some control. The more I researched the trait, the more I learned. I started implementing these techniques with HSP clients and was thrilled to see the same positive results as I had personally experienced. HSPs were coming to share that these brain training techniques were working! We could even prevent the over-activation of the fight/flight response! That’s when I developed my course, Brain Training for the Highly Sensitive Person, Techniques to Reduce Anxiety, and Overwhelming Emotions. I wanted to know if others could learn these unique skills even outside the therapy room. I started receiving emails from all over the world of HSPs sharing how working for them! We were all learning techniques that helped calm and balanced our sensitive nervous system, and it also lowered the challenges we were having with sensitivity!

My next step was to develop my Sensitive Empowerment Community Online. I had this inner knowing that HSPs need to be together. As the minority in the population, we experience the world differently, especially those that score higher than a 35 on my Sensitivity Scale. Being together normalized and validated our experiences, and this was pure magic. I have always known the beauty of HSPs, and now members of the community were feeling it too. Being together in this community also helped us see that we all had similar challenges, and that’s when I realized I needed to put out more information to support HSPs in the next step of growth.

Our next step of learning came from how to set boundaries, advocate for our needs, develop self-compassion, and self-love and even learn about some natural alternatives to medications that could help HSPs relax and sleep better if we were under lots of stress. Many traditional medications don’t work well for HSPs, so I felt it was essential to explore natural options. So I developed my next course, Blooming Brilliantly, Understanding and Loving Who You Are as a Sensitive Person. It has been so wonderful to hear from HSPs that these tools support them so much right now. As you can imagine, when you put a group of HSPs together who support each other and grow and get more empowered, then life improves, and we get more energy to think bigger in our lives.

Many HSPs struggle with the regular 9-5 job and feel unfulfilled in their careers and often dream about starting their own businesses helping people! I knew how powerful it could be to get HSPs starting online businesses that helped people worldwide, gave them the security of multiple sources of income, and empowered them to make a real difference in the world. That’s how my course, How to Grow a Heart-Centered Online Business, came about.

When HSPs develop tools to balance their sensitive nervous system and get empowered, anything is possible! HSPs are needed in the world, and most HSPs are starting and growing businesses that help people. That is just who you are.

When you are feeling good, you are someone who helps others in the world. It’s why all these tools are so essential so you can be your best self and grow even stronger and more resilient during all these challenges. I hope you enjoyed learning about the journey I went through to develop tools for HSPs and that you know you are not alone. We can get through these challenging times with tools and being together. We are stronger together.

I hope you know how valuable you are, and that anything is possible, and if you don’t, here are some tools to remind you.

Julie Bjelland is the founder of Sensitive Empowerment. As a sensitivity expert and psychotherapist, her HSP podcast, books, online courses, and Sensitive Empowerment Community have helped thousands of highly sensitive people worldwide reduce their challenges, access and share their gifts, and discover their significant value to thrive to their fullest potential. Known for her ability to teach HSPs proven brain-training tools that work quickly, Julie is on a mission to empower sensitive people to live their best lives. To explore Julie’s valuable HSP resources, including her free Sensitivity Quiz, visit   JulieBjelland.com